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CAN CONTACT WITH A CEPHALOPOD BE THERAPEUTIC?
CAN CONTACT WITH A CEPHALOPOD BE THERAPEUTIC?
planet earth
Text Dr hab. Prof. UAM Hanna Mamzer
Photos Wojciech Zgoła
They are highly mysterious creatures, with a complex structure, intricate behaviour, and uncommon abilities. Classed as cephalopods, octopuses, as their name suggests, have eight arms “growing out of their head”. In fact, they have six arms for grasping food and two for locomotion (walking on the bottom). In addition to these eight limbs, they have three hearts, one pumping peripheral blood throughout the body and two (known as branchial hearts) with which they pump blood through the gills. The heart, which is responsible for pumping blood through the body, does not do so when octopuses are swimming. Thus, they tire quickly and therefore greatly prefer to walk on the bottom. Their blood is a greenish blue colour due to the copper-containing hemocyanin instead of the iron present in hemoglobin.
Octopuses are molluscs distinguished by their great ability for complex movements. They learn based on individually collected experiences as they are solitary animals, spending time in pairs only during the mating season. Thus, they do not pass on knowledge from generation to generation, as the parents only take care of the hatching of the larvae from eggs. One is tempted to ask, however, what would happen if octopuses passed on knowledge between generations, like, for example, cetaceans? How much would their intelligence have developed and how cognitively proficient would they be? Scientific studies indicate that these mysterious cephalopods have a short – and long-term memory, which enables them to find their way efficiently through labyrinths. The results of Robin Crook's study, published in “Science” 2021, indicate that the way octopuses experience pain physically and psychologically is similar to that of mammals 1 . Octopuses exposed to pain at specific locations in the aquarium (where they were injected in one arm with diluted acetic acid), later avoided these locations in return for settling in those areas where the researchers relieved their pain (they were given an analgesic injection). Although solitary, octopuses communicate with other individuals by changing the colour of their skin and are able to communicate their moods to each other, including threatening behaviour. Adapting their colour to the environment also allows them to hunt effectively while protecting themselves from predators. It is even more effective as they are able to change the texture of their skin.
The unusual nature of the complex behaviour of octopuses was brilliantly demonstrated in the startling 2020 documentary film “My Octopus Teacher”, directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. A year later, the film won an Oscar (for best feature-length documentary) and numerous other awards and nominations. The documentary drew the attention of audiences to the kind of relationship octopuses are able to build with humans and how humans are able to relate to these animals. The film is the story of the therapy that the main character and narrator, Craig Foster, has had for himself, somewhat by accident.
Foster, an overworked filmmaker in whose life a number of emotional problems accumulated in a short period of time, became ill with depression. In the face of all his troubles, returning to his childhood memories, the happy time when he and his brother swam in the ocean, the protagonist felt that in order to regain his mental and emotional balance, he should return to those youthful encounters with water. To immerse himself in it again and thus understand his needs. Following his intuition, he began regular dives in the Atlantic Ocean, around Cape Storms (in South Africa). Aiming to regain his 'connection' with nature and himself, he dived without a suit, which he considered a kind of artificial barrier separating him from the natural environment. Thus, becoming part of the ocean, immersing himself in the underwater world, swimming through kelp forests, he came across an unusual structure formed of colourful shells and stones. It was an octopus-built shelter. This encounter fascinated Foster so much that he regularly came to stay with the animal.
The octopus, distrustful at first, slowly began to get used to the diver and one day decided to touch the man's outstretched hand. So began a healing relationship for the man, full of emotions and diverse sensations, based on mutual trust and respect between the human being and the animal and its ecosystem. The relationship was evidently forged by the octopus – meaning that the octopus consented to the human touch – in fact, it touched the human. Craig Foster's relationship with the octopus evokes complex emotions in the viewer. It shows trust, interest, and the desire for contact with oneself, but at the same time it provokes sadness, fear and reflection on the further fate of the octopus. Living in a natural body of water, the octopus is exposed to threats: attacks by predators, exhaustion, disease, and ultimately death, which is, on the one hand, the stage that ends the life of the individual, and on the other hand, the moment that begins the circulation of matter in nature, and thus gives another life. Meeting an octopus, the protagonist of the film experiences dilemmas: should he feed the sick octopus? Should he protect it from predator attacks? How to deal with the death of the animal? Does man have the right to interfere in the natural world, even if he has good intentions? These and many other questions are posed to the viewer by the authors of the film, forcing the viewer to dive into their reflections.
The moment when the octopus first touched Foster's hand with its arm became a turning point in the relationship – at least from the human protagonist's point of view. Craig Foster had waited 26 days, and he interpreted the octopus's touch as acceptance, which also allowed him to understand how much he needed acceptance from humans.
The world of animals often becomes a source of such positive feelings for humans, due to the fact that animals judge differently than humans, build relationships based on different characteristics and behaviours than humans. Although perhaps using the term 'animals' is too much of a generalisation, linking organisms from very diverse taxonomic groups. This problem was highlighted by Peter Singer in "Animal Liberation", pointing out that such broad generalisations cause us to lose important differences – small but important.
Craig Foster has managed to establish a peculiar and poignant relationship with the octopus of a very emotional nature. Similarly, Sy Montgomery (author of a book describing the biography of a pig treated as a companion animal, "The Good Good Pig") talks about octopuses. The authors of these popular science or even pop culture messages have enormous power to influence mass audiences – they are able to educate about what kind of animals octopuses are. And although for most people octopuses are a food ingredient or an attraction in water parks, where they are caught from the wild because they cannot reproduce in captivity, it turns out that they can also be a friend. In Craig Foster's case, an octopus accidentally encountered during a dive became the object of the protagonist/ narrator's own projection of his emotions.
By diving into the ocean, Foster was given the opportunity to immerse within himself and his thoughts, and ultimately through this he found contact with his loved ones. This is how following a childhood memory helped the protagonist to deal with an existential crisis. The octopus was both a teacher and a friend. And diving was a form of occupational therapy.
I would like to thank Marta Stawska-Puchalska for help in editing the text.
PERFECTDIVER No. 4(22)/2022 61
