Amidst the chaos of economic turmoil and AI upheaval, it’s refreshing to see a family just enjoying each other’s company.
A viral video uploaded on TikTok shows a guy going for a walk with his cat, which is odd enough. But he has another pet in tow: his octopus.
Though octopi can survive out of water for brief spurts of time — we’re talking a couple of minutes at best — it’s surely a pretty stressful experience, with likely horrible consequences for the sea creatures’ already short lifespan.
That’s probably why the influencer chose to tow the cephalopod in a tank riding on a skateboard, complete with what appears to be a wireless aerator to supply the critter with oxygen. It all seems pretty nonchalant: at one point, the guy’s cat glances over to lock eyes with the octopus, but seems to shrug its shoulders and keep on walking.
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“I aspire to this level of absurdity,” one viewer applauded in the video comments. “What drives you?”
“Life’s too short to live ‘normal,’” the influencer replied.
Intriguing as the clip might be, there’s always a flipside. Given the high intelligence that octopus species possess, groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have argued that it’s morally and environmentally wrong to keep them in an aquarium.
In a 2022 piece on octopus captivity, former marine biologist James Wood told National Geographic that octopi require enrichment and attention in order to thrive in a home environment — so much so that they may be impractical for all but the most dedicated aquarists.
“All the reasons you would use enrichment for vertebrates apply to octopuses,” Wood said. When keeping octopi in bare-bones tanks for research, Wood found that “some would crawl up the containers, out of the water, and just dry out. Some would eat their own arms.”
While we’re not accusing anyone of octopi-abuse, all of this poses a worthwhile question: does taking your water-bound octopus count as enrichment?
More on octopi: Efforts Grow to Ban Octopus Farming
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