TV-Reviewed

When I initially saw the first minute or so of this episode, I thought it was a repeat of the squid episode from the first season, but I eventually realized this one was about giant octopuses. Do such creatures really exist?

As it turns out, yes, but it depends on how you define the word giant. There’s already a species called the North Pacific Giant Octopus, which is a large cephalopod located in the Pacific Northwest, near Oregon and Washington. They’re the largest known species of octopus, but I wouldn’t exactly call them giant.

I suppose when I think of a giant octopus, my mind tends to conjure up images of entire ocean-going vessels being attacked by a giant octopus. I don’t think of the 20-50 pound octopuses one might find while diving off the coast.

There was an interesting story about a blob washing ashore quite a few years ago and some scientists seem torn as to what the creature might have been. I tend to side with the scientist who said it was a piece of a whale. The blob didn’t look even remotely octopus like when it was shown from one or two of the side views.

Though the ocean is a vastly unexplored place, I have serious doubts as to the existence of such a creature today. Like many fish, I think the really large octopuses that may have been around a long time ago have probably died out due to overfishing (of prey), so they may not grow to that truly giant size anymore. Being a fisherman, I’ve seen a lot of old photos of very, very large fish which don’t grow to that size nowadays. Still, I think most of the old stories about ships being attacked are exaggerated… or at least the size of the creatures was exaggerated. I don’t doubt an octopus would attack a vessel.

Rating: 6.6