Octopus changing colours while dreaming mesmerizes thousands of netizens

A mesmerising video of an octopus changing colours while sleeping is making rounds on the internet. The 20-second clip, which is now viral on social media platforms including Twitter, was initially captured by Public broadcast service (PBS) for its documentary Octopus: Making Contact. The PBS series has been consistently among the most-watched primetime series on public television. The video starts with the octopus changing colours from white to yellow and, then swiftly it changes to dark brown. As the video proceeds, a biologist explained the reason behind the fascinating effect. "The octopus may be dreaming about eating its favourite cuisine, i.e. crab, at the bottom of the sea. This can be a reason for the dark brown colour," said the biologist. 

Watch the video here:

Octopus changing colour is quite normal, says biologist

He also informed that the fascinating act that was captured in the video is quite normal. Octopuses change their colours to protect themselves from predators, said the biologist and added he has never seen such rapid colour change in any other octopus. Meanwhile, the video that is resurfaced again was shared by a Twitter user named 'Buitengebieden'. Since being shared on social media on August 21, with the caption: "An octopus changing colours in her sleep", the video has garnered over 13K views and the count is still going on. 

Netizens puzzled on the dream of octopus

Meanwhile, netizens were swift to comment on the viral post. "Wondering what are octopuses dreaming of Are they dreaming? Must do, considering their intelligence." read the comment of a social media user. "They’re such beautiful, intelligent and fascinating creatures. I don’t understand how people can be so heartless as to eat them and ALIVE at that. It’s heart-breaking," read the comment of another social media user. "She was pretending to dream, she was doing this to trick the cameraman while her friend sneaks out of another water tank and unlocks the door - she is even more clever than they thought," read another comment.

"I love these creatures. I used to think it was a bit cruel to keep these very intelligent beings in captivity but now after seeing so many of them being eaten or hurt in the wild I’ve decided that they are much safer in nice little homes and cared for," commented the fourth user. 

(Image Credit: @buitengebieden_/Twitter)