November 8 is International Octopus Day. Now, you may wonder why I come up with such a seemingly exotic topic today. I was playfully looking into a website that deals with celebratory dates, and among others this resonated immediately with me. Because I love octopuses or octopods. And yes, that’s the plural, not octopi or octopedes, because the anglicized word originates from Greek, not Latin!
The first time I actually encountered a live octopus was at the marine center in Port Angeles. Her name was, very befittingly, Octavia – she was huge, watchful, and absolutely regal in attitude. Apart from sitting in a tank and languidly letting the tips of her feet dangle in the water.
Back then, I had no clue that each of her legs work as brains apart from the one that she has in her head. Not just Octavia, of course. Every octopus, no matter what size. With these legs, an octopus, smells, senses, grasps – in short, the amazing cleverness of these ancient creatures is a matter of cooperation and coordination between nine brains. They can solve puzzle boxes. They can squeeze themselves through infinitely narrow spaces, which makes them escape artists. They are strong, too. About a year ago, I watched a movie that documented how an octopus reacts to people who play with him or her. (They are so personable, I can’t think talking of an octopus as “it”.) So, when the filmer’s daughter wanted to leave, the octopus reached for her arm outside his tank and held on to her, while splashing her with water with another arm, until she relented!
The very first time I heard of giant octopuses was when I was nine years old. My family went to watch the Jules Verne movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”. In that case, the octopus was as big as Captain Nemo’s submarine. Well, whenever we pass across, by, or under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge I think of the Pacific giants that purportedly live underneath. Nine-feet long legs, too shy to make themselves seen. And sometimes I wonder whether it’s Washington State’s equivalent to Scotland’s Nessie. On the other hand, reading my dear friend Dorothy Wilhelm’s book “True Tales of Puget Sound” (https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Puget-Sound-American-Legends/dp/1467139696/), I tend to believe they ARE out there. There were world championships in octopus wrestling, after all. And in one of my famous author, radio and TV host friend’s Zoom parties, I comfortably chatted with one of the last octopus wrestlers, Dupont’s mayor, Ron Frederick. He showed pics of quite sizeable species.
At one time in summer 2018, I was sitting at the dock of the Point Defiance Marina, where my husband was fishing, when a few places next to him a man took an octopus of his fishing hook. He simply left it on the boardwalk. I was aghast: poor little octopus about to die?! But poor, little octopus suddenly got onto all his or her eight legs and walked towards the edge of the dock to thrust him- or herself back into the water. I was so happy to see the creature disappear into the depths.
On another note, I have to say that I also love to eat octopus. Yes, my love is twofold, and I feel like a traitor. I cannot remember when I first had it or which way it was made. Photos a German Facebook friend of mine took in Greece the other day show how they literally hang the catch on clothes lines. I don’t know how they go about the octopus we get in the stores over here. Catching and keeping octopuses in Washington State is regulated, and one better looks it up at the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website before bringing such an eight-footed friend home. I have learned how to take apart a fresh octopus and turn them into a marvelous stew, a salad, a pasta dish. Also, my husband has relished the meals I dished up – so they can’t have been all wrong. And many of us probably know the slim leg slices they put on nagiri in sushi restaurants.
Whichever way, octopuses are wonderfully versatile in more than one way. Check them out on YouTube – they are marvelous, intelligent beings. If you come by any waters that might hold them, help them on. Picking up litter from the water and not causing any that might end up in there, is our small way to keep them thriving.
Thank you for this article Susanne. I am glad that we don’t wrestle octopuses anymore. In fact, I think it is more difficult to find an octopus today in the waters of Puget Sound than it was years ago. Pollution, changing water temperatures and other issues have taken a toll on marine life. We need to protect these resources as much as possible to have a vibrant Puget Sound for future generations.
I’m all with you, Ron. As much as some of us try to keep everything as clean as possible, there are so many out there (and bigger ones, too) who seemingly don’t care about keeping our environment clean. It’s like trashing one’s own living room and then bewailing that the carpet is a goner.
Great column, Susanne! As Ron says, those octopuses are precious resources that need to be preserved. The octopus wrestling days were different times, though. (Not excusing them, just saying.) Television was new and the octopus wrestlers were looked upon as a version of the two legged wrestlers that were so popular. It’s instructive to think that my Aunt Vi, a diminutive woman, was a champion TV wrestler. I’ve got her championship belt out in the garage – somewhere. My point, if any, is that times do change and it’s good to have the wit to keep ahead of the changes.
Keep up your great observations, my friend!
I’m totally with you, Dorothy. And thank goodness, here in the Sound they are illegal to keep. Now let’s just hope that industrial and sewage waste stops polluting the waters (as it does on a regular basis without much happening against it). The few wrestlers probably did less damage back in the day than the big scale nonchalance these days against better knowledge …
As to your Aunt Vi – what a fun story!
Treasuring sentient creatures while eating them for diner: an unfortunate example of cognitive dissonance. If one can regard them so highly, and acknowledge that, like so many other creatures, they are a threatened species, surely one should be disposed to taking them off the menu.
The octopuses we get in stores are obviously fished in areas where they are abundant. Not the Sound. Not WA.
I highly recommend watching “My Octopus Teacher” streaming on Netflix.