The octopus is the most notorious escape artist among all sea creatures.
They are known for their ability to squeeze through any small hole or opening. They have often been recorded escaping from fishing boats or aquariums through extremely tiny openings. Even giant octopuses have tried to squeeze their way out of an aquarium.
Arnold, the big octopus in this video, has already displayed his wild squeezing skills in the past. During his previous squeeze challenge, The Amazing Arnold, king of all cephalopods, managed to fit through an opening as small as two centimeters.
Time For a Rematch
But our brave friend has grown considerably since then.
Almost two months later, his length has reached 84 centimeters (33”) and he now weighs approximately 5 pounds (2,25 kilos). He is quite the big octopus. We decided, therefore, it was high time for an octopus challenge once again to see how his growth affected his amazing ability to fit through small holes. After all, it might be easier for smaller octopuses to hide in tiny holes or openings, but when it comes to bigger octopuses, is it as easy for them to escape from their predators by squeezing and hiding away?
The Technical Details
Once again, we divided this octopus experiment into five rounds. We started off easy. The first hole had a big enough diameter of 6,5 cm. We then kept reducing the diameter half a centimeter per round.
Here is the size of the hole’s diameter in all 5 rounds:
- Round 1: 2,6″ (6,5 cm)
- Round 2: 2,36″ (6 cm)
- Round 3: 2,17″ (5,5 cm)
- Round 4: 1, 97″ (5 cm)
- Round 5: 1,77″ (4,5 cm)
We first made sure that all holes were safe for Arnold to fit through. We installed the same type of divider, this time with a hole in the middle rather than a rectangular opening. The idea was to observe if Arnold would use slightly different techniques to fit through the holes. Big octopuses living in the sea must pass through variously shaped holes and openings in order to catch their prey or hide from predators. So we and our viewers would be able to compare and contrast Arnold’s techniques in both challenges and observe if the shape of the opening affects the octopus ability to squeeze through or not.
We placed a tasty treat on the other side of the see-through divider to give Arnold an extra motive.
Will Arnold Make It?
Arnold squeezes through the first hole and he makes it look so easy as a piece of cake. Second round, again no hesitation. The third round is when the situation is becoming a bit more tight. During round four is when Arnold must really employ all his skill to squeeze through, having to move, literally, cell by cell.
In the final round, the hole has a 4,5 centimeters diameter. The octopus calculates carefully and explores the small hole. He tries and tries but cannot find a way through. Will he try even harder if his beloved barrel replaces the snack? Well, those of you who know Arnold already know the answer to that question…. After facing so many challenges, we are seriously considering crowning Arnold king of all sea creatures.
