Diver Convinces Baby Octopus To Give Up His Plastic Cup In Exchange For A Shell

Pall Sigurdsson

"We spent a whole dive and most of our air saving this octopus from what was bound to be a cruel fate.

The coconut octopus, also known as veined octopus, is born with the instinct to protect itself by creating a mobile home out of coconut or clam shells.

This particular individual however has been trapped by their instincts and have made a home out of a plastic cup they found underwater.

While a shell is a sturdy protection, a passing eel or flounder would probably swallow the cup with the octopus in it, most likely also killing the predator or weakening it to a point where it will be soon eaten by an even bigger fish.

We found this particular octopus at about 20 meters under the water, we tried for a long time to give it shells hoping that it would trade the shell. Coconut octopus are famous for being very picky about which shells they keep so we had to try with many different shells before it found one to be acceptable"

This is, however, a feel-good story that serves as an example (and a reminder!) of how we ought to take care of our ocean life. A video surfaced that shows how scuba divers in Lembeh, Indonesia are convincing a baby veined octopus to switch “homes”—from a transparent plastic cup to a couple of seashells.

Octo in a cup

Not a day goes by without a news story about how waste finds its way into our beautiful oceans. With each such story, however, more and more efforts are dedicated to turning the tide on water pollution.

Today, conservationists estimate that the waste count is in the trillions, amounting to over 260,000 tons of plastic waste alone roaming wild in the oceans. Not only do the different kinds of plastics and paint pollute the waters themselves, but are also hazardous to ocean life that swallows or gets caught in them.