Underwater divers see a fantastic array of sealife while exploring the oceans. When snorkeling, divers remain in shallower depths, closer to the surface. Their limited “dive area” only extends as far as they can hold their breath. After numerous encounters with octopi, this diver happened upon a scene even they couldn’t believe. Swimming across the ocean floor, they witnessed an octopus hitching a ride on a sea turtle.
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The opportunistic little octopus wrapped its tentacles around the turtle and did not let go. We’ll never know if he was hitchhiking or if this is a new service offered by Turtle-Uber. How much does it cost to go from reef to reef across the ocean floor?
A few snorkelers might use the service to move around quickly. They can only stay underwater for a short amount of time. Traversing quickly would be a definite advantage in their exploring. Imagine being on the ground floor of this fantastic opportunity. There is no other service like it in the world! How hard is it to train sea turtles?
All kidding aside, octopuses and sea turtles are not usually on friendly terms, including this ride-share option. They are not sworn undersea enemies. However, octopuses routinely snack on tiny, defenseless sea turtles, and sea turtles are opportunistic feeders who will eat octopus if it is available. That makes this footage extraordinary. The diver, while snorkeling, managed to capture something not typically seen.
If you want to see more great snorkeling footage, follow them on TikTok. They have dozens of posts showing non-intrusive interactions with sea life, including wrestling octopi, swimming with sharks, and hanging out with dolphins.
Please share if you enjoyed this octopus as it rides a sea turtle.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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