by Juanita Nonwo – EM TV Online
Scientists were amazed at captured footage of an octopus practically walking away clinging onto to two halved coconut shells.
The tentacle creature exhibited one of the most remarkable and amusing examples of tool usage in the animal kingdom – the footage the scientists captured showed the eight limbed creature holding onto the broken coconut shells while walking underwater.
As it turned out, all the octopus wanted was to use the shells as a shield to protect itself – a technique some sea creatures use when exploring unknown territories and especially when the area lacks a good hiding place.
According to the scientists, they say that this behaviour is the first evidence of tool use by an octopus, placing the aquatic animal in a league with a small number of other animals known to do the same.
The behaviour displayed by the octopus stunned the scientists so much they claimed they almost drowned of laughter.
Julian Finn, a researcher from the Victoria Museum in Australia was one who witnessed this behaviour first hand:
“I almost drowned laughing when I saw this the first time, I could tell it was going to do something, but I didn’t expect this — I didn’t expect it would pick up the shell and run away with it.”
