Watch Octopuses Throw Things at Each Other

For the first time, animals have thrown things at each other.

In Australia's Jervis Bay, the gloomy octopus (Octopus tetricus) lives at very high densities. Researchers decided to film the creatures with underwater cameras to see how they interact.

The researchers watched more than 20 hours of footage after they pulled the cameras out of the water. The co-author of the book is a behavioural ecologist at Alaska Pacific University. There were instances in which the creatures gathered shells, silt or algae with their arms and then flung them away. It did sometimes appear that they were throwing things at each other, despite the fact that some of the time they were just throwing away debris.

Clues were found that the octopuses were targeting each other. When the thrower was displaying a dark or medium body colour, the throws were strong. Sometimes the squids on the receiving end ducked. Throwings that made octo-contact were more likely to be accomplished with a specific set of arms.

It was not possible to assess what the reasons might be. Throwing might help these animals deal with the fact that there are a lot of them. It is likely social.

The work opens a new door for inquires into the social lives of these famously clever animals. She says that the environment for the specific octopuses is very similar to that of humans. Communication is in a way.

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