nick baker’s weird creatures
the mimic octopus (8/8)
Concluding his second series of compelling nature documentaries, Nick Baker goes on the trail of another of the planet’s strangest beasts. In this evening’s finale, he heads to Indonesia in search of the mimic octopus, which is supposedly capable of changing its colour and shape to copy other animals and blend in with its surroundings.
Nick explores an underwater kingdom of surprises this week, as he travels to the Lembeh Strait off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Nick’s goal is to find the mimic octopus, a chameleon of the deep that can apparently impersonate other creatures that share its environment. The octopus was only discovered in 1998, when a paper detailing its remarkable skills set off a frenzy of research amongst marine biologists.
Nick explains that the mimic’s talents are thought to lie in its use of a connective layer between the skin and the muscle that helps it change shape. Like chameleons, the mimic also boasts pigmented skin cells which stretch and compress to change the creature’s colour. “These are bold claims about an octopus,” Nick says. “I need to see this with my own eyes.”
The Lembeh Strait is one of the best places in the world to find this rare octopus, and Nick enlists the help of local guides and a trio of top underwater cameramen. Taking his first dive into the clear blue waters, Nick encounters a sea bed of black volcanic sand which soon begins to seethe with life.
Amongst the creatures on display are pygmy sea horses, which cling virtually unnoticed to sea ferns. Nearby, Nick finds a pair of pipe fish that are almost identical to the seaweed around them. But even more impressive is an Ambon scorpion fish, which resembles a walking coral. “This, for me, is state-of-the-art, advanced camouflage,” Nick says, as the fish hobbles across the sea bed.
Nick’s first foray underwater has demonstrated the importance of camouflage for the strait’s inhabitants. But he is quick to point out their limitations: “These creatures can’t leave their costumes behind. They’re fixed,” he says. “This is where the mimic excels – it has more than one trick to help it disappear.” Yet Nick is impressed by the wealth of activity on the seemingly barren sea floor. “That place is heaving with life,” he says.
Acting on a tip-off, Nick heads to the other side of the strait, where he encounters a tiny cuttlefish with strobing colours on its skin, and a striped sea snake which is a cousin of the cobra – and just as deadly. “Fortunately for me, the only thing that matches this snake’s toxicity is its friendliness,” he says. Nick knows he is getting close when he finds a striped octopus that is a cousin of the mimic and bears the funkiest name of all: a “Wonderpus photogenicus”. Nick watches in delight as the Wonderpus spreads its tentacles into a net and encloses one of its prey.
Nick’s patience is finally rewarded when he spots a mimic and gives pursuit across the sea bed. As he chases his prey, the octopus takes on the form of a flounder – cleverly disguising itself as its own predator. “If you’re mimicking your predator, then your predator might not want to touch you,” Nick explains. The mimic then adopts a traditional octopus shape in order to give Nick the slip, spraying him with ink for good measure. When he catches up with his target, he observes it performing a highly accurate impersonation of another sea creature, a crinoid.
Nick leaves his quarry in peace, impressed by its talents and delighted with the underwater world of the Lembeh strait. “For me, this will always be the home of… the most mysterious weird creatures,” he reflects.