VIDEO: Octopus Walks On Land

I don’t know much about the octopus, but I didn’t think they walked on land, did you? The following octopus video comes from Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Moss Beach, California. He climbs out of the water, wanders about looking hammered, drops off a dead crab then lurches back to his watery home.

According to marine biologists some octopus that live in tidal zones do get out of the water for a quick stroll every so often. Most octopus are nocturnal though so us humans are less likely to see them skulking around. Theses tentacled blobs find tasty snacks in rock pools left behind as the sea goes out, once they’ve snacked their way through the contents of one pool they move on to the next.

Octopus occasionally come out of the water to avoid predators too, big fish are rubbish on the land and never give chase. Octopus do need water to breathe though so it is a bit of a gamble. As long as their skin stays moist they can still carry out gas transfer but on a hot dry day they probably wouldn’t have so much luck. Tidal areas with liberal lashings of sea spray are perfect.