Very smart: Octopus uses coconut shell to hide

What would you do if you were a defenseless octopus under the sea? This little guy had a very clever idea: use a coconut shell to defend himself. In a BBC recorded video for the Life Story series, the clam captures two halves and creates a new type of shield.

In the clip, the creature is an Amphioctopus marginatus, better known as "coconut octopus". Although it appears that the animal is being chased by the sole, Dr. Jennifer Mather, a Lethbridge University professor who specializes in octopus cognition, explains that this is not the case.

"This species is not a predator for the octopus, " he says. She reveals that the fish usually follow the clam while it hunts. Thus, the animal can scare smaller creatures while the sole catches them.

A natural defense

Because octopuses are creatures of soft and fragile bodies, they are vulnerable to various types of predators - including fish and some marine mammals. As there is not much hiding in the open sea, mollusks pick up coconut shells and use them as protection.

“By itself, the use of tools does not indicate intelligence, as there are other automatic manipulations that also fit this definition, ” adds Mather. However, she points out that the animal was very clever, because it was able to anticipate a possible attack and adapted to the different situations in which the object would be useful.

"The octopus that carried the coconut shell predicted that it would be useful later, so he dug it up and carried it with him until needed, " the doctor concludes.