Cuttlefish Hypnotises Prey | Blue Planet II | BBC Earth

This specialist hunter knows just how dangerous their prey can be. To solve this problem, they hypnotise crabs by changing the colour of their skin.

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Taken From Blue Planet II
This bold cinematic experience takes viewers on a magical adventure across the greatest, yet least known, parts of our planet – our oceans. Since Blue Planet aired in 2001, our understanding of life beneath the waves has completely changed. Travelling from the icy polar seas to the vibrant blues of the coral atolls, this series shares these astonishing new discoveries. Meet the strange octopuses lurking in the depths of the Antarctic Ocean. Watch giant trevally fish leap to catch birds in mid-air. And ride on the back of a hammerhead shark as it attacks. Inspiring awe and wonder, Blue Planet II reveals surprising new places, charismatic new characters and extraordinary new behaviours.

Welcome to BBC EARTH! The world is an amazing place full of stories, beauty and natural wonder. Here you'll find 50 years worth of entertaining and thought-provoking natural history content. Dramatic, rare, and exclusive, nature doesn't get more exciting than this.

[JunaidWolf]

Man the guy in charge of the sound effects really took his job seriously

[coolbeans]

Imagine being the first human ever to witness a cuttlefish going all alien like this

[anthonyc]

The ease in which the cuttlefish went from a textured skin camouflage to full blown psychedelic hunting machine is astounding.

[negritorican]

The fact that a Cuttlefish life span is only 2 years and yet they mimic other dangerous animals that they sometimes never even met is just insane. DNA is crazy.

[jiaswan]

BBC’s music team had way too much fun with this one. 😂

[AveRegina_]

1:37 Way this cuttlefish spits out the one remaining leg of its eaten prey (crab), all the while making eye contact with its next prey is not only a perfect shot but also an incredible detail!

[STBill]

*"It is your primary directive to swim closer to that beautiful creature... Swim closer... Swim closer now... It looks so friendly... Do not resist... Don't struggle... Go closer"*

[JohnSmith-mkrj]

That's so insane, it doesn't even look real. It looks animated.

[sergeantsonso]

if you focus in on the "shadowing" effect the patterns create, it makes it pretty much impossible to notice that the cuttlefish was slowly moving towards the camera, i think i've found exactly how the "mesmerizing" mechanic works.

when the dark stripes head down and towards the face, in the opposite direction the cuttlefish is moving, it creates a "movement camoflage" to onlookers, to trick them into thinking that the cuttlefish is stationary.

[rkr]

Fun fact: cuttlefish sometimes do this while asleep too, making one of them one of the few animals on Earth where we can say with confidence that we know what they are dreaming about.

[MakoRuu]

The way the cuttlefish looks around, notices the shark, and turns to focus on the crab, you can tell it has a terrifying level of intelligence. It's not just acting on instinct. It's making decisions and planning.

[carllicastro]

The mesmerizing feature is the cuttlefish imitating broken sunlight caused either by rough water above, or blockages from moving seaweed. I know this from observing them whilst spearfishing for the same prey.

[nza]

3:24 hats off to whoever filmed this shot at this angle

[Sarthanas]

The speed at which the cells change color is incredible. It's like a modern screen, I wonder what's the biophysics behind this.

[morfarson]

Crazy how cuttlefish with their hypnotic color displays are like real-life mind flayers! Their ability to mesmerize prey feels straight out of a D&D or Lovecraft story—like a mini Cthulhu using mind control. Nature is wild!

[amolashtaputre]

Forget crabs, I am hypnotized... The sound effects are straight from a sci-fi movie!

[teamfronds]

I really liked how the mantis shrimp appeared to react to the cuttlefish's presence at 1:08. Almost like an "Oh God no" moment🤣

[alphabladelm]

The cuttlefish’s abilities are mind-blowing. This was incredible!

[rageraptor]

Give the guy who does the ambience and sound affects a raise. Because that seriously got me into the climax of the video. Also can we acknowledge just how beautiful life is on earth. Like evolution. Who would have ever thought in a million years that animals like these could exist if they never saw one and we didn’t have cameras to document them.

[grtan]

The crab probably thinking "goddamn a spaceship!"