Octopus Reacts to Video of Himself - Episode 6

Do octopuses belong to the select group of animals that possess the ability of visual self-recognition? How would an octopus react to a moving picture of itself?
Even though our previous mirror tests with other octopuses have partially addressed these questions, we were curious to see how an octopus would react to video footage of itself.
For the sixth episode of our Octopus Reacts series, we recorded a short video of our octopus and soon after that, we showed this video to the octopus.
We found the octopus’ reaction highly interesting, and we hope that your insight will help us decode this octopus’ strange behavior.

[vaszgul]

I think because he lives in tanks, he should be very familiar with his own reflection. You can see his reflection in the surface and in all sides of the tank even here. He's surrounded by glass and the reflective surface, so maybe he's aware it's a reflection of himself but he's Fascinated by the fact it's not copying him?

Funny that he begins copying it. There's no way to know what goes through an octopus' mind, but I like to imagine he's trying to figure out why his reflection stopped mimicking him. (ngl I'd be scared if the mirror me started doing something else)

[karenahmed]

Octovideo. He's probably thinking, "What a handsome fellow that is!"

[benmiller]

What nobody knows is this is actually a vlog posted by octopuses. They have mastered your human ways n are making you docile for when they take over lol

[DaffneyDalilah]

He seemed to catch on pretty quickly that the “other octopus” was not a threat to him. I wonder if he was so at ease with the octopus in the video because the video octopus didn’t display any of the cautious defensive nature that usually is seen when they meet up with another octopus. I wonder how the interaction would differ if it was a real octopus? It was adorable to see him try to play with his new “friend” though! 🐙

[dianeclarke]

I’m sure I saw a little bit of mimicry there!! 🐙🐙💜

[Cast_iron_biache]

Sooo cool! In the mirror test, that octopus got angry at its reflection, but here it seems to know it’s a video and maybe even himself!

[sueg]

I think perhaps he really enjoyed his own company :-)

[LittleKitty]

He is certainly copying the "other" octopus - very interesting, since they normally don't like other octopuses. He seems to want to interact with the "second" octopus and he's confused as to why he can't get to him.

Would love to know what he is thinking!

[mookyo]

WHERE HAS THIS CHANNEL BEEN ALL MY LIFE!?!? Not only are we able to watch these little fascinating creatures. But you play games and do tests with them and they love it! Without a doubt this is my new favorite Channel! THANK YOU💜💜💜

[mTealeaf]

It looks to me as if he noticed immediately that it was him coming from his Octohome, he was very receptive to the "other octopus" in his zone. I would imagine they can see the complex skin variations of themselves as it's what they spend most of their time looking at. I don't doubt at all that he recognized himself, especially after seeing him first copy then exact mimic the actions of himself. Maybe it was further testing for him but they looked conclusive in my eyes. I do wonder somewhat if maybe he was trying to determine if he was actively looking at himself like in the reflection or if how this afterimage of them was around. I'd love to see a further test of showing them another video, maybe this one maybe not, then if their reaction is similar switch to a live feed of the octopus to see what their reactions might be then..

[michaellecompte]

It knows that its a video of itself. It recalls its previous movements and mimics them. Its very excited to see this, just like my 5 year old loves to watch videos of himself.

[roberthudson]

I think he could’ve even remembered this particular day and tried to replicate what he did while the video was playing instead of just blatantly mimicking. Or he was just tryna see how he moved around. Kinna like a football player watching film. Either way I think he knows it’s him

[blueeyes]

Another fascinating look into our curious octopus!
Thank you!

[waryviewer]

Wow! Thanks! By the way, the music you use is great, too!

[jasonblalock]

Do we know enough about octopus eyes to be sure he was seeing roughly the same image we are? Seems like there could easily be a difference in his perception of a mirror vs an LCD display. Or even a difference between what the camera saw and his own perception of his environment.

Edit from the future: They've done a few more tests involving TVs now, and it does seem clear that the octopus perceives the screen accurately, or at least accurately enough to recognize and attempt to pounce on prey.

[nachannachle]

What an incredible synchronised ballet!
You really see the octopus' personality shine through its swimming habits and playful routines.
This video made my day! <3

[acethesupervillain]

that's wild, it seems like he's predicting the motions of the video. Maybe it is remembering what it did that day?

[tupecktherappingparrot]

Now there’s a neat experiment. Our cockatoo recognizes herself in the mirror. And she practices all of her adorable poses. 😂

[leannvlewis]

Thanks for sharing. I could watch the Octopus for hours. Something very relaxing about it for me.
😍

[AI-Assist-]

Octopus 🐙 thinking: I hope this video doesn’t make my head look too fat.