Give them a mirror, and they'll stare into it for ages. And one kind, the flamboyant cuttlefish, has developed a preference for walking:
I'll never be able to order barbecued calamari rings again. Can you love another species? At the same time as you're eating it? I've already given up dolphin, dog and orang-utan. Next thing you know, supermarkets will be taking kangaroo steaks off the shelves.
That TV program came in the same week as My Family And Other Animals. Thank goodness for the British media. Okay, the BBC Radio World Service has gone downhill, now it's mainly sport and listeners' letters. Cheap to make. But the Brits still know how to make great TV.
Watching "My Family And Other Animals" reminded me how much I like Greek people. Is that racist?
Cephalopods are skilled hunters, surely on of the drivers of their brain size. Watch Violet earning her dinner here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1PnQ-1-p
Much of what is understood about ionic neurophysiology comes from studies of the squid's giant axon, a particular large and conductive nerve facilitating escape responses. Also, higher cephalopods (those not inc. nautilus) possess graded lenses in their enormous eyes, like 'higher' aquatic animals (fish, marine mammals). And what the hell is going on with chromatphoric communication system? I want to learn to talk squid.
ion - I couldn't get that link to work, so I began working my way through all the youtube squid vids, but there are hundereds of them.
ReplyDeleteOnan! That God I only eat veggieburgers! They eat you back when they're dead, you know! Hotboy
ReplyDeleteI do apologise for broken link. Try this link:
ReplyDeletewww.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1PnQ-1-pY
Or search for 'octopus trick violet' at youtube. She's worth it.
And that should've been 'chromatophoric'. We humans have modified versions of these too (melanocytes in skin), but they're not so manipulable.
OMG, what is on that plate? No, I don't think I want to know.
ReplyDeleteI saw a similar program a couple of years ago and they impressed me too.
The cuttlefish are amazing!
ReplyDeleteI tried my best to skip over that last photo....oh!
I like Greek people!
suze - nice to see you again.
ReplyDeleteLA - skippy the bush kangaroo is actually some kind of rodent delicacy that they eat in Peru.
Onan! Is it you? I'm on a diet today and I'd eat yon big rat right now! No bother! Hotboy
ReplyDeleteI say!
ReplyDeleteI'm quite partial to elephant biltong, myself. Tastes nothing like chicken, you know.
MM III