[MUSIC]
Hey I'm behind the scenes here at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with my friend Alicia.
Hi, how ya doing?
Alicia, what do you study here at the aquarium?
I specialize in cephalopods. We are behind the scenes of the Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit
and I'd like to introduce you to a good friend of mine.
It's going to like me, isn't it?
I have to warn you. They don't like everybody. It's going to taste you and it's going to
decide if it likes the way you taste or not.
It's really strong!
They are really really strong. So these arms are made of pure muscle. So here she is.
Oh my gosh. So should I just put my hand in there?
Yeah! So just so you know, that is the mouth in the middle there. So you want to stay away
from the mouth because these beaks are made for crunching crabs and clams and they can
definitely do some damage on your fingers.
Oh it looks like she likes you!
I'm going to be part of the exhibit from now on. I don't think I can get off of this octopus.
And they do leave hickeys. Just as a warning.
It's going to look like I had a really interesting date after this.
So how many suction cups does a Giant Pacific Octopus have on its body?
It has about 240 suckers per arm. So that comes out to about 2,000 suckers. They use
those suckers for pretty much everything. They crawl along the bottom and they stick
their arms in to crevices and they can use those suckers to taste and to feel textures
and they can tell if they land on a pray item or not.
So this octopus is really curious. It just wants to find out about me and the world.
Yeah you can tell that they want to be doing this. If she didn't want to interact, she
wouldn't be up here.
Are they intelligent?
Yeah! They are intelligent in their own way. They have a huge central brain and each arm
actually has a little mini brain. They are thinking, they're assessing the situation
and so that's why we try to keep them engaged because that is what they're used to. All
that sensory input trying to solve those puzzles.
See these little bumps on their skin? So they can manipulate those to have different textures
and they use that also as camoflauge so they can look like a rock or a piece of algae or
somehting. So they are pretty amazing.
WOAH! Does that mean she likes me?
Yes! I'll say that. We will pretend that means she likes you.
Alicia thank you so much for introducing me to my new best friend, the Giant Pacific Octopus.
But one more question to settle it once and for all. What is the plural of octopus?
That is a great question. The plural of octopus is octopuses. The word octopus comes from
the Greek octopod. Octopi would be a Latin pluralization and it is a Greek word so it
is just octopuses.
You heard it from an octopus expert.
Be sure the check out the rest of our videos from Monterey Bay. We've got a whole playlist
full of ocean awesomeness. All right, thanks a lot!
Stay curious!