Although most octopus look friendly and cute, and the little ones probably are, there are also giant octopus to look out for. Although it is very rare, if found in the water they call home, they can attack. This may be because they want to eat you, or simply because they would like a hug. Although octopus and squid are formidable fighters in nature, they are usually not dangerous to people.
That doesn't mean they're always harmless. Some species are especially well equipped to defend against larger creatures, and are strong enough to kill a human if they feel threatened. Some octopuses have venom that can even be deadly to humans, but attacks are rare. In fact, octopus wrestling was actually a sport in past decades, although it has since been banned in places where it was popular, such as Washington State.
Of course, there are a number of species ranging from big, scary guys worth fighting for to this irresistible little guy. Cephalapod attacks in humans have been reported since ancient times. A significant part of these attacks are questionable or unverifiable tabloid stories. Cephalopods are members of the Cephalopoda class, which includes all squid, octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus.
Some members of the group are capable of causing injury or death to humans. Industrial agriculture is a bad idea for all beings, since no one wants to endlessly suffer in a cage or tank only to be painfully killed. The countries that eat the most octopus are Korea, Japan and the Mediterranean countries, where they are considered a delicacy. As demand for eating octopus increases, even in North America, it has been called an ethical and environmental disaster with a whole new set of controversial issues.
Despite the increase in demand for octopus, the number of octopus caught in the wild is declining due to fishing. Learn more about fishing here. In addition to being extremely intelligent, octopus requires stimulating and living environments that are not found on industrial farms. People recognize that it is inhumane to force these exotic animals to live together in gloomy conditions with nothing that comes naturally to them.
Forcing octopus into captivity and mass-producing it as food is cruel and unnecessary. When confronted with humans, an octopus tends not to be aggressive, as long as you give them space, as you would with any marine animal. There are some restaurants that serve live animals and PETA has posted videos of people eating live octopus, including small ones. While researching how an octopus mother cares for her eggs, I accidentally came across recipes for baby octopus.
When an octopus clung to the arm of filmmaker Dirk Nienaber, apparently trying to suck his life, the Australian turned the tables around and turned the cephalopod into a fool by revealing to the world that his best defenses are really more cute than creepy. Octopus stings can cause bleeding and swelling in people, but blue-ringed octopus venom (Hapalochlaena lunulata) is only known to be deadly to humans. Octopuses have been suggested to have around 500 million neurons, of which 350 million are clustered along their arms. After an octopus has caught a meal with its muscular arms, it uses its beak and tongue shaped like a drill to pierce the hard shell of its prey.
You may have heard the story of Inky, the New Zealand octopus that escaped from his aquarium enclosure. However, the giant Pacific octopus lives in the North Pacific Ocean and is known to reside in the waters of Japan, California and Alaska. Look how much it stinks when a filmmaker invades the home of a sea creature straight out of many sea nightmares. One of the most persistent myths about octopus and squid is that of the giant squid, a huge creature that sinks ships and feasts on humans.
I regularly hunted and fished a lot of octopus with an average of 2 pounds to 10 pounds, all sold to the same Maltese merchant. .
