The ocean can be a scary place. With all of the sharks and fearsome creatures that lurk beneath the depths, being afraid of the ocean is understandable. Once you are out on the water, you are essentially on their turf. There are also a wide range of creepy fish that can only be found in the deepest parts of the sea. But did you know that there are cute creatures lurking as well?
Take the octopus that you are about to meet, for example. This adorable sea creature is capturing the hearts of everyone that sees him. The octopus looks an awful lot like Dumbo and the Internet noticed this immediately. The octopus’ appearance is caused by the presence of two fins that are located on either side of the head. It makes him look an awful lot like the elephant we all know and love, doesn’t it?
Like many other sea creatures, there is not much known about “Dumbo” or his origins. That is fine with us. It is more fun to make up our own origin stories for the creatures that we come across online. The octopus appears to be quite the ham, though. He likes to show off for the camera every chance that he gets and we cannot get enough of watching him.
The Nautilus research ship is responsible for the footage. The Ocean Exploration Trust funds this research and they are a nonprofit organization. The ship comes with specialized cameras that are designed to teach us more about these surroundings. With any luck, the ocean will one day become much less of a mystery to the rest of us.
While this “dumbo” is just two feet long, there are others that are able to grow three times as long. This particular octopus may have had a ghostly white shade but these creatures have the ability to change color at will. The additional fins are the octopus’ way of fending off predators. They allow them to scoot away at top speed.
If you would like to see more of these octopi in action, please be sure to check out the video below. Those who have never had the chance to see a “dumbo” for themselves will definitely love this clip. Getting the chance to see a sea creature who looks this cool is not something that happens every day. We have to appreciate these moments when they come.
????CEPHALOPOD ALERT????We observed 1000+ deep sea octopus (Muusoctopus robustus) exploring #DavidsonSeamount @MBNMS. Never before seen in such massive aggregations, females were brooding eggs near shimmering fluid seeps–previously unknown to occur in this region! #NautilusinMBNMS pic.twitter.com/AQbMxrRUMV
— E/V Nautilus (@EVNautilus) October 25, 2018
