By this point, the meaning of consent should be clear to all. It’s not rocket science. Consent is non-negotiable. Everyone has the right to say no, regardless of the conditions. That goes for Octopuses too.
Credit: Godfrey-Smith et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
CAUGHT ON TAPE
A female octopus throwing a projective of sand (or silt) toward a male attempting to mate with her was caught on tape.
Targeted throws, like this, towards other individuals, is a behavior hardly ever seen in the animal kingdom.
Researchers at the University of Sydney say they observed both sexes of octopuses throwing, even if females more often.
Half of the seen throws occurred interacting with other octopuses, such as mating attempts. Those throws were more vigorous and often used silt (smaller than sand) rather than shells or algae.
SAND AS PROTECTION
Some plants coat themselves in sand to protect against being eaten; humans use sandbags to protect against flooding; some cultures use sand to protect against evil. And now Octopuses (being meticulous, the researchers say silt, somewhat smaller than sand).
Sand – there’s more to it than meets the eye!!
More information: In the line of fire: Debris throwing by wild octopuses, PLoS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276482
Journal information: PLoS ONE
Top image by Vlad Tchompalov
