The BBC released the documentary Spy in the Ocean, with the aim of recording what was happening in the marine world; for that purpose, John Downer Productions developed a robotic octopus equipped with cameras in its eyes and designed to move around and interact near real animals without frightening them or changing their behavior.
That was how the robot caught the attention of one of the octopuses in the area. At first, it touched the robot distrustfully, but then it became convinced that it was not a threat, although the danger was very close by.
On the reefs where the scene was filmed, blacktip sharks appeared, circling around—deadly predators. The real octopus needed shelter immediately and found a section of hollow bamboo that it entered. The problem was that, from outside the opening, the octopus could still be seen.
So the robot approached with half a coconut shell. The real octopus took it and blocked and sealed the hideout.
The idea worked. When the sharks left, the octopus stayed beside the robot as if saying: “This strange companion helped me at the worst moment of my life”. It had just made a friend.
But shortly afterward, the roles were reversed.
Strong currents began shaking the seafloor. The real octopus found shelter under a bag that had become trapped on the bottom and hid while the turbulence passed. The robot, on the other hand, was left adrift and began being dragged from side to side.
Then the unexpected happened. The octopus came out of its hiding place, went to the robot, picked it up, and took it with it to the hideout so it would not be left out in the open during the storm. This time, it was the one that seemed to be keeping its strange companion safe.
Life for life.
It is impossible to know what was really going through the octopus’s mind, whether it ever believed that the machine was one of its own kind or knew that it was something lifeless. But the images left us with a beautiful coincidence: thanking someone who once helped you will never do you any harm.