Octopus Steals Bait Canister and Thwarts Research in False Bay South Africa

Clever cephalopod steals bait canister, rendering research dead in the water.

October 2, 2012

This octopus was able to steal a bait canister that was secured with zip ties. The octopus makes it appearance at 1:01.

Researchers in False Bay, South Africa, put out a bait canister in an attempt to conduct research. A variety of fish happened upon the canister trying to figure out how to get to the food in the canister with little success. An enterprising octopus, however, was able to finagle its way around the canister and remove three zip ties holding the canister in place, while also holding a pajama catshark at bay with its tentacles to prevent the shark from getting at the bait canister. Nonetheless, the researchers were unable to conduct their research that day, but the octopus learned how to remove zip ties. The octopus makes its appearance at 1:01. The video is sped up to show the octopus working its canister removal expertise.