Discovery: Octopus using coconut shell as a tool

[Melody]

This story, pictures and video are amazing!

"Bizarre" Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-octopus-carries-coconuts-coconut-carrying.html)

[Pamelajo]

That is awesome.

[CACAdmin]

That is so cool. Octopuses are to me the most fascinating creatures of the ocean.

[Melody]

What gets me is the strategic thinking. He doesn't only crawl under something and figure out that the hunting is better that way. The extent of the thought processes, reasoning, planning, and repeated use of the same tool in the same way, suggests a level of intelligence that is WAY higher than they're given credit for.

Humans are notorious for trying to rate intelligence levels with a human scale. If we open our minds a bit, we'd probably learn that the different varieties of intelligence are just as advanced and effective.

[T Dawg]

How does he cut it in half so nicely?:confused:

[Melody]

The same way he sets up a camera so he can prove he did it. :DevilGrin:

BUT seriously, some coconuts split open easily and neatly - they have a seam of sorts. Storms and the like toss coconuts into the sea and they get bashed around. Coconuts are considered to be a drift seed, so it's not uncommon to see them in the water. They will only float for so long before they sink and begin to rot.

[Melody]

This one even made it to TV. I was about to show it to my Son and he said he'd seen it already.