Giant Octopus Attacks Sub

Apostata writes "As reported by the CBC, 'Salmon researchers working on the Brooks Peninsula [British Columbia] were shocked last November when an octopus attacked their expensive and sensitive equipment.' Apparently it was caught on video, but no word on when/where it will be available. Apparently this is the first documented attack." Obviously the start of something bigger.

Comments

ROV != Sub

[shashark]

Interestingly, the article does not mention that the so-called submarine is infact a Remote Operated Vehicle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROV). A ROV, technically, can be termed as a submarine though from TFA it appears that author chooses to call this ROV a "sub" to generate some interest.

And the so-called Giant Octopus weighed about 45 kgs. Hardly Giant.

Anyway.

Re:Video of attack

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

Just as long as I'm devoured first. That way I avoid the horror the rest of you will experience.

Was this really an attack?

[toupsie]

I just watched the video and it looks like the Octopus was checking what the heck this thing was doing in his environment. Once he/she approached the ROV, the guy operating it revved the motors and sprayed debris at the unsuspecting Octopus. How do we really know this isn't so some sort of sick and twisted oceanographer that gets his kicks off luring unsuspecting cephalopods into the ROV engine's thrusts? Sure he says that his little submarine was getting attacked but my guess this isn't the first time he has fucked with invertebrate mammals. I think there is more here than meets the eye. Where is ASPCA?

Re:Was this really an attack?

[kryptKnight]

my guess this isn't the first time he has fucked with invertebrate mammals
Since when is an octupus a mammal?!?! That and there is no such thing as an invertebrate mammal.

How do we really know this isn't so some sort of sick and twisted oceanographer that gets his kicks off luring unsuspecting cephalopods into the ROV engine's thrusts?
How did you get to that conclusion, did you watch the video? It doesn't matter if the octopus was attacking the sub or just extending a friendly greeting, the octopus was going to damage the ROV and it's cargo not matter what it's intentions were.

You should know what your talking about before you go around accusing people of being diabolic ceplhapod torturers.

Re:Was this really an attack?

[Bad D.N.A.]

So how exactly would you define an "attack" and how would that differ from what we saw here?

given that the operator was responsible for a 200K piece of equipment, that no one really knows what an attack looks like, and had to make a quick descision I cant say I would have done any different.

As far as you or I know if the operator had not acted in this way the equipment may be swimming with the titaic.

Re:Was this really an attack?

[maotx]

A $200,000 dollar machine, high price pilot, and an expensive per hour charge places enough pressure on the pilot and manager to get the job done as efficiently as possible. Wasting valuable ship time looking at an octopus, as interesting as it may be, will typically be reviewed as wasted time and money by the client unless the client is interested in marine life and willing to pay for it.

Re:Don't blame the Octopus

[dangitman]

Yes.

Touch != Attack

[dereference]

After watching the video, I'd hardly say it was an "attack" given that it seemed more like the octopus was simply checking out the ROV. I'm not a marine animal behaviorist, but there certainly didn't seem to be anything malicious or even dangerous. At best it seemed actively curious.

It's always easier when it's not your expensive toy down there, but it seems the operator was in panic mode. I'd like to think that if it were my ROV, I'd have held off on that little counter-offensive stunt a little longer, until I saw at least some indication of hostility. In the video, the octopus has barely started reaching toward the ROV by the time its starts getting pelted by the gravel. My guess is that the encounter would have ended quite peacefully, without any aggression on either side, and we would have had even more footage of this interesting interaction.

Re:The Video is At the CBC

[Legion303]

If it installed itself, you've got bigger problems than adware.

Curiosity is destructive.

[RossumsChild]

Forget the cats, "Curiosity kills kit."

Ever leave a five year old with aspirations of a future in engineering alone with electronic gear? The results, while not malicious and bourne only out of curiosity, are usually disastrous.

It's a classic case of "What's this button do?" and "Does this part come off? Neat!"