Octopuses
By Chloe Raines, age 14
On the 5th day of creation, God created all
water-dwelling
animals, such as sharks, whales, shrimp,
manatees... and octopuses.
Sailors long ago believed that octopuses hid at
the bottom of the sea
waiting to crush ships and kill sailors. However,
octopuses are not
nearly big enough to crush ships; the very
biggest ones being about
16 feet long and weighing only about 600 pounds.
Octopuses are also rather shy. When people
or predators come,
they have the God-given ability to change the
color and even the
texture of their body to blend in with their
surroundings. Amazingly,
octopuses can change the color and texture of
their bodies up to 20
times in one minute! If the first getaway tactic
does not work, the
octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink in the
enemies face and then
use jet propulsion to get away quickly.
Octopuses
belong to a family of
mollusks called cephalopods. This family includes
the squid and the
nautilus, and of course, octopuses. There are two
major divisions of
octopuses: incerrina and cirrate. Incerrina
octopuses are the more
commonly known of the two and they tend to live in
shallower water.
Incerrina octopuses have no hard parts of their
body except their
beak, enabling them to squeeze through very tiny
cracks and crevices
in rocks. Cirrate octopuses, on the other hand,
have a protective
inner shell and also two fins.
God created octopuses with superior
intelligence compared to
other invertebrates. In fact, octopuses are
thought to be as smart as
pet cats. Scientists have tested octopuses on
their intelligence in
many ways. They have been tested on puzzles, jars
with screw top lids,
and even clam shells that have been wired
together. In all tests,
octopuses passed with nearly 100%.
God created the octopus and many other
animals with the desire
to play. Octopuses in captivity often get bored,
so people will give
them toys, such as plastic blocks. One octopus was
recorded playing
with an empty pill bottle for more than 20 minutes.
Of all the animals God has created, one of
the oddest most
amazing would be the octopus. There is no way that
something as
intricate or as smart as an octopus could evolve
over millions of
years. With its eight arms covered with suction
cups and its sharp
beak, the octopus is completely original. Not to
mention its
intelligence, or how it can change colors. These
animals have
definitely been designed by the all powerful, all
knowing, Creator of
All Things.
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