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The cat spread its wings and flew high into the air, hovering to keep pace with them as they moved cautiously toward the city. Then, as they climbed over the rubble of what had once been a gateway and began to make their way through piles of weed-grown masonry, the cat flew to the squat building with the yellow dome upon its roof. It flew twice around the dome and then came back to settle on Jhary's shoulder. - The King of the Swords -
Wow that is crazy! I wouldn't like to go swimming when that octopus is about! Scary but strangely fascinating. -
oh man that is impressive. I never saw anything like that. That shark was just another fish to that octopus. :clap:
...where can I get an octopus? :lol: I would name it Xiombarg.
"With a deep, not-unhappy sigh, Elric prepared to do battle with an army." (Red Pearls)
- Michael MoorcockComment
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The kraken wakes!
Well. it's quite a big octopus, and quite a small shark, but nonetheless an impressive Clash of the Titans! The film looks a bit 'set-up': I wonder if this particular octopus was a regular 'big fish' predator, in a captive or easily accessed environment. The shark looks a bit dopey too, and is not as active as I'd expect once it's been snared. Interesting.Comment
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I do hope you chaps don't mind, but I've posted this story over on the Fortean Times Message Board, Cryptozoology section. A lot of Forteans being big cephalopod fans.
:)
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Terrific! But darn. The link don't work. It seems we have to have a membership.Originally posted by AndroManThe cat spread its wings and flew high into the air, hovering to keep pace with them as they moved cautiously toward the city. Then, as they climbed over the rubble of what had once been a gateway and began to make their way through piles of weed-grown masonry, the cat flew to the squat building with the yellow dome upon its roof. It flew twice around the dome and then came back to settle on Jhary's shoulder. - The King of the SwordsComment
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phnglui mglw'nafl Cthulhu r'lyeh w'gah nagl fhtagn!
It kind of makes me see seafood salad in a new light...\"...an ape reft of his tail, and grown rusty at climbing, who yet feels himself to be a symbol and the frail representative of Omnipotence in a place that is not home.\" James Branch CabellComment
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I thought the same thing. Sharks generally thrash much harder than that.Originally posted by Perdix
The audio says this octopus was killing shark after shark -- that it was an ongoing problem. Thus, I'm led to assume that shark was a newbie to the tank. Poor bastard.
*PWV stumbles, wide-eyed and gaping, towards the winged cuttlefish-headed atrocity*Originally posted by Mikey_C"Wounds are all I'm made of. Did I hear you say that this is victory?"
--Michael Moorcock, Veteran of the Psychic WarsComment
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I agree that watching it I felt the footage had been too expertly 'edited', which makes me think that having found out what was happening to the sharks the zoo/aquarium re-staged the events in order to film them 'properly'. If that's the case then there would be something disturbing about their (apparent) willingness to sacrifice a shark's life for 'entertainment'.Originally posted by Perdix
That said, the actual physics of the incident make sense, because as I understand it - and this may be one of those 'urban myths' you pick up at school and no-one disabuses you of it - sharks have to keep moving in order for their gills to work, and that if their forward momentum could be impeded - by, say, being held down by a octopus - then they'd effectively drown, or something.
Which prompts me to ask the question, how the heck do gills actually work? I'm guessing that since water contains one Oxygen molecule to two Hydrogen molecules that gills somehow break down this chemical/atomic(?) structure and siphon off the oxygen to keep an acquatic animal alive. Or is that just baloney?
Where's our resident vet when we need him?
_"For an eternity Allard was alone in an icy limbo where all the colours were bright and sharp and comfortless.
_For another eternity Allard swam through seas without end, all green and cool and deep, where distorted creatures drifted, sometimes attacking him.
_And then, at last, he had reached the real world – the world he had created, where he was God and could create or destroy whatever he wished.
_He was supremely powerful. He told planets to destroy themselves, and they did. He created suns. Beautiful women flocked to be his. Of all men, he was the mightiest. Of all gods, he was the greatest."Comment
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As far as I know -- and Perdix will correct me if I'm worng -- sharks do not have to keep moving in order to breath. The reason most sharks need to keep moving is to stay afloat. They have no air-filled swim bladder, so they must keep up the inertia to keep from sinking.Originally posted by demos99...as I understand it - and this may be one of those 'urban myths' you pick up at school and no-one disabuses you of it - sharks have to keep moving in order for their gills to work, and that if their forward momentum could be impeded - by, say, being held down by a octopus - then they'd effectively drown, or something.
Which prompts me to ask the question, how the heck do gills actually work? I'm guessing that since water contains one Oxygen molecule to two Hydrogen molecules that gills somehow break down this chemical/atomic(?) structure and siphon off the oxygen to keep an acquatic animal alive. Or is that just baloney?
Where's our resident vet when we need him?"Wounds are all I'm made of. Did I hear you say that this is victory?"
--Michael Moorcock, Veteran of the Psychic WarsComment
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Oooh! Oooooh! I worked at an aquarium with a shark nursery, and gave talks every day... and it's all totally slipped my slippery mind... except I know f'sure that some sharks can stop for a nice rest on the floor of the tank, or inside a wacky barrel. Er... but I forget why some have to keep moving. I presume it's because they've seen a lot of heartbreak, and if they stopped moving they'd start thinking about all the other sharks that done them wrong and get really sad?
Also, there's such a thing as a "bonnet head shark", which looks enough like a "hammer head shark" for all the parents to bluff their children, assuming they know what they're talking about. And those employees who've read their facts sheets can stand off to one side giggling and feeling smug.... before having to go outisde and pick up discarded cigarettes for the next hour.
Sorry. I'm ranting again. :("That which does not kill us, makes us stranger." - Trevor GoodchildComment
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PWv has it! It is their absence of inherent buoyancy (no swim bladder) that makes elasmobranchs (sharks'n'rays'n'chimaera) swim a lot; they can stop (rays do routinely, of course) and many do rest on the bottom or in caverns. The gills extract dissolved oxygen from the water, and work by muscular action sluicing water through the rakers, so again are pretty independent of forward motion, though it helps. We find that sharks kept in captivity sometimes get gassy guts, and hence become over-positively buoyant. Part of my PhD is determining how well they can fart. Damn, I can taste that Nobel Prize already! :DComment
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I knew I went into the wrong field! :lol:Originally posted by PerdixComment
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I would have thought you could smell your NP. Which brings to mind weather or not sharks can smell their own farts underwater. How far away can sharks be to smell blood? Like a mile? How long does it take blood to transmit it's smell a mile away? How far away do you have to swim from some shark farts?Originally posted by PerdixThe cat spread its wings and flew high into the air, hovering to keep pace with them as they moved cautiously toward the city. Then, as they climbed over the rubble of what had once been a gateway and began to make their way through piles of weed-grown masonry, the cat flew to the squat building with the yellow dome upon its roof. It flew twice around the dome and then came back to settle on Jhary's shoulder. - The King of the SwordsComment
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I smell a career in marine biology for Berry...
(boo! boo!)Comment
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