Octopus Encounter

I haven’t seen one since the winter. I guess they go south. Who knows? But in the last few dives I’ve seen a few. Or, maybe it’s the same guy. They are pretty solitary. Except someone has pictures of them mating. Have a look. Tell me who’s the boy and who’s the girl. Nope. Not here, it’s one or the other. This is one skittish octopus. It changed color and camouflage several times. It did not slip under the coral and hide. So this series gives you an idea of the show it put on for me. I happened along at the right moment. My buddy drifted patiently nearby while I feasted with my camera. Later he told me his battery was dead. The happy ending is that we saw him again on the next dive. Can you imagine? Of course you can’t. It’s near to impossible to go back and see the same creature again. So maybe the second time was the she we’ve been wondering about.

The base color is a deep brown. I’ve seen the octopus touch down on the coral and change color and texture in a matter of seconds. Curiously, this guy did not squirt ink. He put on a great show for me – all for free.