Category

Water life

Location

Lembeh Straits, Indonesia

Gear

Canon Powershot S95 in a Recsea Housing using Natural Light

Description

Mimic Octopi (only identified in 1998) can be found along the coast of Sulawesi as well as the Philippines and Mabul, Malaysia in shallow areas and grow up to 2 feet. They are so-called because they often copy behaviours of other animals, i.e. jellyfish, lion fish and even flatfish, therefore tricking them to leave them alone and not eat them! I was finishing a dive in Lembeh Straits (a place known for it's famous 'muck dives') when I was drawn to this beautiful green algae and all of a sudden, a movement caught my eye in amongst it. I watched this mimic from a distance for a few minutes keeping still before gradually approaching it, very, very slowly, stopping every so often to observe it again, before continuing my approach. This beautiful mimic then starting 'dancing' in front of me, stretching out it's tentacles and forming beautiful shapes. I was completely mesmerised by its' various formations, watching it change colours from dark brown to pale brown,and vica-versa. It did this for over 10 minutes whilst I just kept still a few feet away. I'll always cherish how such a rare, unusual creature chose to spend its' time with me in such a beautiful location.

Photographer

Maria Munn

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