Earthly Alien - Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens) in a Pillar Point Pool

This resourceful and inventive red octopus (Octopus rubescens) went through a series of diversionary tactics as it attempted to evade me and my camera. First the odd camouflage, shape, and texture shift. Then a more direct burnt sienna hued lunge at the camera, followed by the ever-fascinating color "flashing," and finally a steady retreat beneath a cluster of giant green anemones (Anthopleura xanthogrammica). Other critters in this video include sunburst anemone (Anthopleura sola), aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), purple urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), encrusting coraline algae (order Corallinales), a sculpin or two (superfamily Cottoidea) and some California mussels (Mytilus californianus). I had initially planned to scour Frenchman's Reef just north of Pillar Point, but it was closed - and fenced off - as a result of the recent public health crisis, so Pillar Point was my only option. The spring low tides are - in my opinion - the best time of the year to encounter our octopus friends and this year did not disappoint. I went tidepooling three days in a row and every day met another octopus.

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