HARBOUR MENACE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 123, 18 February 1935, Page 8

HARBOUR MENACE

Prevalent in Port Nicholson COMMON OCTOPUS Several recent news items in “The Dominion” have drawn attention to t he presence in Wellington Harbour of that unwelcome sea-beast, the octopus. Barely a week ago a dog which fell into the sea between the Ferry and the Railway Wharves narrowly escaped be-eye-witnesses to measure no less than 15 feet in span. This beast rose from the bottom at a spot not far distant from where a month or two ago a diver was engaged daily in the alterations to the breastwork. Again, on Thursday a Point Jernlngham bather tried conclusions with a small octopus, less than a fathom from tip to tip. He found to his surprise that even this small cephalopod, a comparative pup, was able, not only to bold its own, but even to drag its assailant into deeper water, where it made its escape. The curator of the Wellington Museum and the custodian of the hulk William Manson both report having seen octopuses, measuring as much as 12 feet in span, taken from the harbour waters. The former was that captured some years ago at the Te Aro baths; the other was caught off the Pipitea Wharf. It is comforting, however to be assured that this species does not attain any size greater than that recorded, although an octopus of even these dimensions would easily be able to cope with a human being. There is in the Pacific a very much larger octopus, common in warm seas, which attains a span of 36 feet. Resembles European Species. The octopus found in Wellington harbour so closely resembles the common European species that only a zoologist could distinguish it. It feeds on crabs and large shellfish, and no doubt any other form of flesh it can lay tentacles on In captivity it is said to develop a curious habit of eating its own arms, even when supplied with ample quantities of its natural food. Another peculiarity of the cephalopod, known to few people, is that it lays eggs, over which the female broods, almost after the fashion of poultry. There are over 140 species of octopus recognised by scientists. They are in many parts of the world highly esteemed as food, by people of such otheiwise conflicting tastes as the peasants of Britanny and the natives of Fiji. In 1899 and 1900 they appeared on the south coast of England in such vast numbers as to constitute a veritable nuisance, this sudden superabundance being due either to an unusually good supply of food or to a lack of theii natural enemies. A traveller in Fiji and Polynesia states that in those islands the natives are not afraid to dive for the octopus in deep water. When the creature is outside its lair in the coral, on a moonlit night, or just after dawn, the native divers go down, unarmed, or else-carrying a spear. In the former case they incapacitate the octopus by turning inside out the bag-like body of the creature. If stewed for about, an hour with the expressed cream of the coconut, octopus makes a delicious addition to the native menu. Combats With Monster. Mr. Victor Berge, the pearl diver, who claims to have had several submarine combats with these monsters, attributes to the octopus an hereditary enmity with the shark. He relates how lie placed an octopus in a large rock pool containing a big shark of a particularly voracious species. A horrible battle ensued, culminating in the death of the shark, which from the first evinced the liveliest terror. The octopus, however, showed no wish to devour the dead fish.