What do three hearts, eight arms and one huge brain add up to? An octopus, a creature that can do amazing things. Octopuses are very clever. As they don't have teeth or sharp claws to defend themselves, they have ever learnt a few tricks to get out of dangerous situations. Do you know how they do that?
They often hide themselves in the sand on the bottom of the ocean floor. Some octopuses like to stay in more shallow water where there are rocks. Because octopuses have very soft bodies, they can hide themselves into small spaces between the rocks to get rid of enemies.
The octopus is like a chameleon because it can change the color of its skin to match the sand. This color change happens in less than a minute.
Another way an octopus can protect itself is by shooting ink. It can shoot ink into the water. The ink forms a cloud to blind its enemies. It's like a magician doing a disappearing act.
If an octopus is being attacked, it can make itself look like a sea snake. It will bury itself in the sand except two arms. It will change the color of those arms to match a sea snake.
But what if there's no time to escape? It can break off one of its arms. The arm will then change colors and move around the water. As the enemy starts chasing after the arm, the octopus can swim away quickly. Don't worry, though. The octopus' arm will grow back soon.
