🐙 World Octopus Day – Are They Earth’s Aliens or Our Ocean Cousins?
Every year from 8th to 12th October, ocean-lovers celebrate the International Cephalopod Awareness Days. A week that shines a light on some of the most intelligent and extraordinary animals on Earth.
It all starts with World Octopus Day, honouring the eight-armed thinkers of the sea. Curious, creative, and sometimes downright mischievous, octopuses continue to surprise scientists and storytellers alike.
🧠 Are Octopuses Truly Sentient?
Octopuses are among the few animals now officially recognised as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain, pleasure, and possibly emotion. According to World Animal Protection, their remarkable problem-solving skills and behaviour show deep intelligence. You can read more on our previous blog
They can navigate mazes, unscrew jars, and learn through observation. Some even play. In aquariums, keepers report octopuses squirting water at specific people, rearranging objects in their tanks, and even escaping through drainage pipes for nighttime adventures.
One famous octopus, Inky, made headlines in 2016 after slipping through a small gap in his tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand, sliding across the floor, and escaping through a drainpipe to the ocean. A real-life Finding Nemo moment.
🎨 The Masters of Disguise
An octopus can change colour and texture in less than a second, blending perfectly with coral, sand, or rock. These transformations are controlled by millions of pigment cells and muscles in their skin.
The mimic octopus, found in Indonesian waters, takes this to another level by imitating other animals, from lionfish to sea snakes, to confuse predators.
They can even communicate mood through these colour changes. When calm, their skin may glow softly. When threatened, they flash bright warning hues. It’s language, emotion, and art rolled into one.
🦑 The Lost on Infinity Dectopus
In our adventure story, Lost on Infinity, we meet Colonel Utensil, a ten-legged Dectopus who leads the Extinct Squid Squad on the Island of Infinity, home to the last one of every extinct species.
He’s disciplined, charming, and very possibly based on something real. Scientists estimate that less than 2% of all species that ever lived are preserved as fossils. With such gaps in the record, who’s to say our ten-legged friend didn’t once swim in Earth’s ancient seas… or perhaps came from somewhere else entirely?
But why are octopuses are so unlike any other animal? Some researchers have suggested they could be ‘alien’ in origin, their extraordinary DNA hinting at an evolutionary path unlike anything else on Earth.
💔 The Brief, Brilliant Lives of Octopuses
Most octopuses live for only one or two years. After laying her eggs, a mother octopus guards them until they hatch, never leaving or eating again. It’s one of nature’s most selfless acts of devotion. If you would like to understand these beautiful creatures a bit more we recommend the extraordinary, heartwarming oscar-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher.
Despite their short lives, octopuses have evolved intelligence, individuality, and creativity that rival some mammals. Every encounter with one feels like meeting a consciousness both familiar and utterly alien.
🌊 Why They Deserve Protection
Around the world, octopuses are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, and the rise of octopus farming, an emerging industry that many scientists and welfare groups, including World Animal Protection, strongly oppose.
These animals are solitary and complex. Farming them in tanks not only risks cruelty but also threatens ocean ecosystems. Supporting wild protection and ethical seafood choices helps safeguard these incredible beings.
🪐 Octopuses and the Rockford Connection
At Rockford’s Rock Opera, we’ve always been fascinated by nature’s imagination and how evolution creates creatures stranger than fiction. In our podcast Stories, Science & Secrets, we’ve discussed how octopuses might represent Earth’s ultimate aliens: living proof that intelligence evolves in astonishing ways.
And through Lost on Infinity, Colonel Utensil keeps their spirit alive, even extinct or imaginary species can teach us about courage, curiosity, and connection.
🎧 Listen Free: Part 1 of Lost on Infinity, our musical audiobook adventure about extinction, friendship, and hope.
Listen to the first part of the Lost on Infinity audiobook and watch the animated adventure free on Apple App Store and Google Play.
Download our FREE lesson plans and slides about Extinction and Biomimicry. We also have a selection of classroom activities on our website.