Octopus

The Octopus is a sea animal with eight powerful feet which it uses as hands. These are called tentacles. The word “Octopus” comes from two greet words that mean “eight feet”.

                The octopus, the squid and the cuttlefish belong to the same family that has no outside shells. Their bodies are covered entirely with skin. Therefore the body of an octopus is soft. It looks like a big balloon. A fully-grown octopus can be as large as 8,5 metres from the tip of one tentacles to the tip of another. It can weigh as much as 45 kilograms.

                Besides using its tentacles to catch small fish, sea plants, crab and lobsters, the octopus also uses them against its enemies. The octopus wraps its tentacles around the victim and squeezes it before eating it.

                The octopus escapes from its enemies by giving out a thick dark fluid to darken the water. It can also change the colour of its body to match its surroundings. It hides from its enemies by doing this.