There wasn't much "vs" in that video at all. That was a pretty one-sided spectacle. posted by lekvar at 10:55 PM on April 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
a) That's not really so much "versus" as "eating". I was hoping to see more of a fight.
b) That "crittercam" is fucking huge, and not at all hydrodynamic. It's gotta be killing their speed considerably. Makes me want to find the scientists responsible and strap a brick and a parachute to their heads. posted by Netzapper at 10:55 PM on April 10, 2010
Octopi only live about two years, tops. If they lived for 20, we'd be in trouble. posted by snofoam at 10:58 PM on April 10, 2010
Octopi only live about two years, tops. If they lived for 20, we'd be in trouble.
It would be cool if the Sea Lion had a kitchen at the bottom of the ocean floor and she could put on an apron and show the humans through her critter cam, how she likes to prepare a delicious Octopus meal for the whole sea lion family. I imagine she'd use parsley and some lemon juice and maybe fry that octopus right up into a delicious calamari type dish and seve it up with a nice fra diavolo tomato sauce.
Octopus, is such a strange word. It's like one of those fanciful words that was just stuck in the science books without the over view of a grown up sober scientist. Perhaps that guys had called in sick that day they were naming the octopus, and so here we are using the word octopus and sounding like something out of Jules Verne... posted by Skygazer at 11:22 PM on April 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
Octopus isn't the scientific name. The scientific order is "Octopoda", and comprises a number of species. posted by delmoi at 11:34 PM on April 10, 2010
A... A.. W... D... LEFTMOUSELEFTMOUSELEFTMOUSE!! SPACEBAR!! posted by dirigibleman at 11:44 PM on April 10, 2010 [3 favorites]
Octopi only live about two years, tops. If they lived for 20, we'd be in trouble.
Thank you for the North Pacific Giant Octopus link, Blasdelb. Just because it points to this.
...he knew full well the futility of trying for a crotch hold on an opponent with eight crotches. posted by darksasami at 1:18 AM on April 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Sadly, the genitals of crittercam-enabled sea creatures are a potent delicacy in China. posted by turgid dahlia at 4:08 AM on April 11, 2010
"...she bites off tentacles one by one."
Man, that brings back bad memories. Could we put a triggers alert on this post? posted by pracowity at 5:18 AM on April 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
Man, just more proof that sea lions are assholes. National Geographic is pretty darned mammal-ist with their cheering on this anti-cephalopod violence. Hell, my spell checker does not even recognize "cephalopod!" We need more videos of The Penguin and Octopus Anti-Sea Lion Alliance beating the crap out of these menaces! At least the sharks are doing their part. [Warning: mammal blood and chomping shark teeth] posted by GenjiandProust at 5:24 AM on April 11, 2010
I always feel bad for the octopus. Such a smart creature, it deserves better.
So we have established:
- seal beats octopus (thanks Artw).
- octopus beats shark (thanks not_on_display).
- shark beats seal (thanks GenjiandProust).
If we can come up with some good hand signals, we might have a succesor to Scissors, Paper, Rock on our hands. posted by fonetik at 6:58 AM on April 11, 2010 [12 favorites]
I've made a vow to disdain anything with eight legs or arms or combination of both. Hurrah, sea lion! posted by Atreides at 7:14 AM on April 11, 2010
I thought it was interesting how the sea lion kept trying to surface for air while the octopus kept fleeing downward. We never hear much about aquatic mammals drowning but I bet it happens quite a bit in scenarios like these. posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 7:52 AM on April 11, 2010
If we can come up with some good hand signals, we might have a succesor to Scissors, Paper, Rock on our hands.
We also need to figure out how Spock and Lizard fit in. posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:46 AM on April 11, 2010
PH'NGLUI MGLW'NAFH! The Beast with a Thousand Arms has once again risen from Y'ha-nthlei! I shall join my brother Cthulhu to destroy the surface wor ... OH FUCK, A SEA LION ... posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:46 AM on April 11, 2010 [8 favorites]
It always looks like the octopus is brooding and scheming. Which they probably are. posted by Lord Chancellor at 9:32 AM on April 11, 2010
can't get the goddamn video to load, goddamn waiting for advertisement to goddamn play so the video can goddamn follow goddamn crappy video interface posted by spacediver at 9:41 AM on April 11, 2010
fonetik: The ASL signs for octopus and shark work for me, but I think we may need to find something else for seal. posted by ArkhanJG at 3:19 PM on April 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Rise up, octopi brothers, and end sea lion oppression! posted by bwg at 4:36 PM on April 11, 2010
orca beats shark.
That's awesome. It's like ... a hit-man that only accepts contracts on other hit-men, or something. posted by Amanojaku at 8:55 PM on April 11, 2010
Once that woman stopped talking, that was great!
b) That "crittercam" is fucking huge, and not at all hydrodynamic. It's gotta be killing their speed considerably. Makes me want to find the scientists responsible and strap a brick and a parachute to their heads.
I'm actually glad I got to see what the cameras looked like, because it made the effortless beatdown that sea lion gave the octopus even more amazing. I wouldn't even be able to get up off the couch with one of those strapped to me. posted by OmieWise at 5:02 AM on April 12, 2010
Crittercam is one of the finest names ever given to an invention. posted by rahnefan at 5:22 AM on April 12, 2010
Did they seriously just like, glue a camera to the back of a sea lion? That seems a bit strange, since their conceit is "let's help these little critters." posted by This Guy at 5:50 AM on April 12, 2010
their conceit is "let's help these little critters."
What a strange way to phrase it, as "their conceit." I'm not sure "help these little critters" is the same as "help every one of these little critters." Still, I would guess that they have some way to get that camera off without hurting the sea lion too much. posted by OmieWise at 6:24 AM on April 13, 2010
posted by rebent at 9:58 PM on April 10, 2010