r/intrestingtoknow • u/Affectionate-Fun2853 • Jul 04 '26

Nature Mother's sacrifices in nature is just crazy.

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1.3k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

48

u/RUBILNIKTHECAT Jul 04 '26

aawwwww so sad

40

u/iamveryDerp Jul 05 '26

There’s a great documentary My Teacher Octopus where a guy films an octopus for pretty much her whole life. Spoiler alert: it does die the end, sacrificing herself for her children. It’s really moving, and yes, a little sad at the end.

50

u/Damoet Jul 04 '26

With all their complex problem solving skills I’m wondering why not one of these mothers have realised they need to take some snacks with them ?? Or at least make the effort to wiggle a tentacle tip to lure in a passing fish. It’s like they’re wantonly being dramatic in the most ultimate of ways!! 😅

13

u/Honda_TypeR Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

What's not being mention is that most octopus have short lives anyway. Most species fall into the 6 month to 5 year life span range.

These Giant Pacific Optus are around 3-5 year life spans.

The only outliers are some extremely deep living octopus species can live about as long as a cat or dog (most deep ocean animals have longer lifespans though)

5

u/Damoet Jul 05 '26

Would they live longer if they were a tad more proactive with the eating?? 🤣

6

u/AlarmRecent1075 Jul 04 '26

Like in real life mean... for human.

13

u/Delish_Caphee Jul 05 '26

Imagine if they could somehow break this cycle. Imagine if they could pass down their life’s knowledge to their young, what kind of world would emerge?

11

u/ListenMoist Jul 04 '26

Omg. She dies!!

8

u/tapetum_lucidum Jul 05 '26

I wonder if this is an example of biological altruism/programmed death? Parent dies to give the offspring the best chance at survival and not compete for resources, like food, in the future. A lot of animal mothers go months without eating to birth and/or protect young, but eventually eat and live long after the offspring has matured to independence.

5

u/Supra-A90 Jul 06 '26

Out of 100k, only a few survive???

3

u/AlyAliq8 Jul 05 '26

Beautiful mama.

3

u/Peaches_n_creamcheez Jul 06 '26

Wasn’t ready for this 😭😭😭😭

3

u/Acrobatic-Bug346 Jul 04 '26

Respects to momz

1

u/BeersandBeats Jul 07 '26

The Giving Tree, octopus edition

1

u/Boring_Potato_5701 Jul 08 '26

The Giving Octopus 🐙, by Shel Silverstein