00:00These animals look like something out of this world. Their ancestors were around
00:06before dinosaurs roamed the earth. They're jet-powered, and most can change
00:11color. But these are no aliens. We're talking about cephalopods.
00:19We're gonna join Nate, curator of fish and invertebrates here at the Aquarium
00:23of the Pacific, so we can find out exactly what it takes to care for these
00:26aquatic oddities. Cephalopod is a type of mollusk. The word is actually comes from
00:31Greek meaning head-foot, and they contain species like cuttlefish, octopus, squid,
00:38nautilus. These animals have unique abilities of changing color and texture
00:43for camouflage and to avoid predation. They have tentacles with suction cups
00:49where they can capture and hold on to their prey, and in some cases are very
00:53strong to be able to open the shell of the clam to feed on it. They're some of
00:57my favorite. They're very bizarre animals. Bizarre may be a bit of an
01:02understatement. And because they're a little more unusual, they can also be a
01:06difficult animal to look after. Cephalopods are sensitive. They're
01:10intelligent. They're challenging to care for. We need to make sure that they
01:14have everything that they need for their well-being as far as food and safe
01:18enclosure, but we also need to stimulate them mentally. Some are social. They need
01:22to be in groups. Others we need to do enrichment or share with them something
01:26that challenges them to keep them from being bored and physically stimulated,
01:32mentally stimulated. The work doesn't stop there. Besides the extensive care they
01:38require, cephalopods also pose other challenges for the staff here at the
01:42aquarium. The challenges of keeping cephalopods are many, but most stem from the
01:47effect they're very naturally short-lived. Most live less than a year, some live more,
01:51but that means to display them in an aquarium setting that we always need to
01:55be hatching baby cuttlefish, baby squid behind the scenes and rearing them up so
02:00we can ensure that they have animals to share with the public. And their
02:04dedication to cephalopods is evident through the many peculiar species we were
02:08lucky to meet today. The Aquarium of the Pacific has been perfecting this work for
02:14over 20 years, but still the aquarists tell me that the best part about working
02:19with these animals is that they're so diverse and distinct you can learn
02:22something new just about every day.
Comentarios