Hello,
I know nothing about the lovely octopus, but I had a very odd experience this last weekend, which I am trying to unravel. I went with my family and friends to a place called Smiths Lakes, on the central coast of NSW, in Australia. There are large shallow bodies of water there, which periodically are subsumed by the sea (I'm sure there's a name for that!) We were walking across the lake (it was about knee-deep) at about three o'clock in the afternoon, when we saw an octopus about the size of a football, swimming around in the shallows and in the open. We went towards it, and it swam away (who can blame it?). Then when three of our party of five went ashore, and two of us remained in the shallow water, the octopus turned up again, and seemed to be really interested in checking us out. He swam in a wide arc away from me and towards my friend, passing within about two feet of him. Then he turned quickly and swam, fast and straight, directly towards me. I quickly hopped out of the water and stood on the edge (who can blame me?). The octopus, without swerving or slowing, continued to advance until he was right on the very very edge of the water, with his head completely out, and one eye looking straight at my face. We stayed there for just the longest weirdest minute, so close that he could have reached his leg out just the tiniest bit and touched my toe, and then he turned and swam away. I've been looking around online, and I can't seem to find any information on this type of behaviour. Perhaps I'm just not looking for the right thing?? It really was such a strange encounter, and I'd love to hear some thoughts from people who might know something about this incredible creature.
I know nothing about the lovely octopus, but I had a very odd experience this last weekend, which I am trying to unravel. I went with my family and friends to a place called Smiths Lakes, on the central coast of NSW, in Australia. There are large shallow bodies of water there, which periodically are subsumed by the sea (I'm sure there's a name for that!) We were walking across the lake (it was about knee-deep) at about three o'clock in the afternoon, when we saw an octopus about the size of a football, swimming around in the shallows and in the open. We went towards it, and it swam away (who can blame it?). Then when three of our party of five went ashore, and two of us remained in the shallow water, the octopus turned up again, and seemed to be really interested in checking us out. He swam in a wide arc away from me and towards my friend, passing within about two feet of him. Then he turned quickly and swam, fast and straight, directly towards me. I quickly hopped out of the water and stood on the edge (who can blame me?). The octopus, without swerving or slowing, continued to advance until he was right on the very very edge of the water, with his head completely out, and one eye looking straight at my face. We stayed there for just the longest weirdest minute, so close that he could have reached his leg out just the tiniest bit and touched my toe, and then he turned and swam away. I've been looking around online, and I can't seem to find any information on this type of behaviour. Perhaps I'm just not looking for the right thing?? It really was such a strange encounter, and I'd love to hear some thoughts from people who might know something about this incredible creature.