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Article: Octopus's garden: Current Science editor Rene Ebersole went scuba diving in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica to help a scientist learn more about the native octopuses there. (Life)(Cover Story).
- Article from:
- Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- April 12, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I'm anxiously waiting beneath warm, blue tropical water for the creature to ooze from its den. My heart pounds as one purplish, sucker-lined arm emerges from under a rock. Then another arm emerges, and another, and another. Then comes a gelatinous head, topped by two beady eyes.
I wait a few more seconds, take a deep breath, and grab the octopus. It squishes and squirms in my hands and shoots a cloud of black ink at me. I can no longer see the eight-armed invertebrate, but I can feel it slipping from my grip. Under the cover of its inky cloud, the octopus retreats deep into its den.
Normally, I don't harass octopuses. This encounter was purely for the ...