1 post tagged “maui snorkeling”

We've been snorkeling in Maui again.  This time we saw octopuses on two occasions.  There was a little drama going on with the last octopus we saw.  He was a tiny thing, could fit in my cupped hand if he'd stay curled up. He was trying to make a home in a small hole in the coral right on the sandy bottom.

A small wrasse, maybe two inches long, wasn't having any of it.  It was like he was saying, "That's my hole."  Mr. O  would stand his ground and say, "No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is!" The wrasse was circling the octopus while always keeping its head pointed at him. 

Finally, the octopus moved to a different hole a few inches away. Still no good. "That's my hole, too!" 

This went on for a long time. A few times the octopus would snake out a tentacle and tag the wrasse, who would then skitter away for a moment.

After about ten minutes, C and I moved away to continue our underwater cruising.

It's very rare to sight octopus in the reef, not because they aren't there, but because they hide so well. We knew we'd seen something very rare and special.  We still talk about it a week later.