It was sad to read today that Paul the ‘oracle octopus’ has died.
Paul shot to international fame this summer by predicting the winners of all of Germany’s games in the World Cup. He successfully predicted eight match winners by choosing a mussel from one of two boxes bearing the flags of competing nations.
Whilst the world was titillated and entertained, people are still largely unaware of the amazing natural abilities of these fascinating creatures. Octopuses are increasingly thought by scientists to be highly intelligent animals. Their natural environment and lifestyle means that they need to be capable of complex and flexible behaviour. As active predators they need to explore, understand and remember their environment and the behaviour of other animals.
They are so far the only invertebrates that we have seen using tools. In a now infamous film clip an octopus can be seen scurrying across the ocean floor carrying coconut shells. It seems octopuses use the shells as mobile shelters to scramble into and hide when they sense a predator approaching. They also use rocks and jets of water in a way that could be classified as tool use - an indicator of intelligent behaviour.
Studies have shown that octopuses learn easily, including learning by observation of other octopuses and humans. They can also solve problems, such as removing a plug or unscrew a lid to get prey from a container.
Octopuses have also been observed playing with objects as toys, an activity described by scientists as “something that intelligent animals do”. In addition, they are thought to have individual responses and individual temperaments – usually known as personalities.
Although they may appear very physically strange to us, octopuses and other cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish and nautilus) have a well-developed nervous system and a complex brain, which is relatively larger than the brains of some fishes and reptiles. Aspects of their brain functioning have been found to be similar to that of vertebrates.
To sum up, increasingly scientific understanding of their nervous systems and behaviour such as of learning, memory, special awareness and decision-making indicates that these animals are sentient and likely to experience pain and suffering. So what are the implications of our new knowledge?
Historically, animal protection legislation has tended to include only vertebrates (such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish) and exclude invertebrates such as cephalopods on the grounds that they are non-sentient and, therefore, incapable of suffering. OneKind is working for invertebrates such as cephalopods, and other invertebrates such as lobsters and crabs, to be protected by law.
Humans use a lot of cephalopods. More than 4 million tonnes of cephalopods are harvested from the oceans every year. In some cultures octopuses are even eaten whilst still alive. In addition to their use as food, cephalopods are also kept as pets, as research animals and some, like Paul, are kept in captivity in aquaria.
Paul spent his entire short 2 and a half year life in an aquarium tank. Responding to his death, Stefan Porwoll, Manager of the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen, Germany, said: “We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life”. Given what we know about the complex mental capacities of octopuses is it really likely that Paul would have enjoyed spending his life confined in a tank?
The aquarium will also no doubt be consoled by the increased paying visitor numbers Paul’s fame will have generated. It is interesting to note that the aquarium apparently has a new octopus, also named Paul, ready to take his place on show. Bizarrely enough, apparently deceased Paul also has his own agent who is promoting commercial enterprises and Paul merchandise, including books, toys, special clothing lines, mobile phone applications and a documentary ready for the Christmas market...
Let’s hope that some good will come out of Paul’s five minutes of fame. He has increased the people’s awareness of octopuses and if nothing else has given me the opportunity to tell you about some of the amazing things scientists are starting to discover about these fascinating animals.