The Monster of Twenty Mile Pond by Bill Rowe

Author:Bill Rowe
Language: eng, eng, eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Flanker Press
Published: 2014-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

In the lab at the university, Professor Atwood showed me specimens and pictures of squid and octopuses. As we moved about, he picked up where we’d left off on the phone the day before.

“Are they intelligent? Oh yes. Oh yes. Squid and octopuses are the most intelligent of the invertebrates and are an important example of the evolution of intelligence in animals. Research has concluded that octopuses can learn by observing, and possess exceptional ability regarding spatial learning, navigation, and hunting techniques.

“It has been difficult to study the intelligence of live giant squid in controlled circumstances, but from dead specimens it is clear that the giant squid has a sophisticated nervous system and complex brain. And if the Humboldt squid, the aggressive ‘red devil,’ a smaller but still large cousin of the giant squid, is anything to go by, their hunting forays in packs for schools of fish show remarkable co-operation and communication and indicate they are very likely as intelligent as the octopus.

“The requirement of giant squid to locate and capture their prey in the vast, deep ocean and to evade sperm whales, probably their only predator judging by the beaks found inside these whales’ stomachs, has been a driving force behind the development of their advanced intelligence and those eyes. Giant squid, and their cousin, the colossal squid, have the largest eyes of any creature alive. The record for the diameter of a pair of eyes measured to date is twenty-seven centimetres, or nearly a foot wide.”

“This is intriguing, Professor Atwood. If the giant squid is as intelligent as the octopus, that’s really saying something. Because in that documentary I saw, the octopuses had the ability to use tools. They salvaged coconut shells thrown out by humans, and carried them off and assembled them into a shelter. They even picked up and transported tools, and saved them to use later in the building of complex dens and fortresses. They were able to learn how to escape from convoluted mazes simply by watching another octopus that had been trained to escape. They could even open the screw caps on containers.”

“Yes, yes,” said the professor. “Yes, yes. Both octopuses and squid have a high level of dexterity, and the same ability necessary for tool use and manipulation that we humans have. The highly sensitive suction cups and prehensile arms of octopuses and squid are just as good at holding and handling objects as the human hand.”

“Didn’t I read somewhere about an octopus at an aquarium in Germany who could juggle?”

“Oh yes, that would be dear Otto,” answered Atwood. “There are reports of Otto the octopus juggling the hermit crabs in his tank, and often, he will decide to redecorate his tank, and then he will proceed to rearrange everything in there to suit his taste. Sometimes, for mischief, he deliberately takes aim and throws rocks at the aquarium glass, smashing it.”

“He actually breaks the glass? That’s a lot of force. Their arms or tentacles must be very strong?”

“Well, they are all muscle.

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