NOT ALL EXPERIENCES ARE USEFUL 211 



expedition on the Calypso reported in terms of surprise that 

 none had been found. The fact seems all the more strange as 

 it is not known what obstacle prevents the survival and 

 reproduction of these animals, found in so many other parts 

 of the globe. I would suggest that octopuses are rare in the 

 Red Sea because of the superabundance of groupers. It is a 

 well-known fact that the main food of the grouper is the 

 octopus. It would be interesting to carry out comparative 

 observations with specified areas of the Indian Ocean. 



However, one day at Dur Ghella, Folco quietly called out 

 to me, as if it were the most natural thing in the world : 



'Come down here. Looks like an octopus.' 



I shot out of the boat . . . and it was true ! It was shrivelled 

 up on a coral rock, perfectly camouflaged, about two pounds. 

 I made a grab for it (with my hands, so as not to ruin it) and 

 it squirted a cloud of extraordinary thick ink. It came in a 

 steady jet, a brown colour that darkened the water for a 

 good square yard. However, I got it and took it triumphantly 

 back to the boat. Then I examined it with loving care. It 

 was different from the Mediterranean variety. The external 

 anatomy was roughly the same, but its colouring was more 

 striking, ranging from bright red to violet. The skin was very 

 wrinkled as if to reproduce the scaly surface of the coral. In 

 addition the uniting membrane of the tentacles was 

 extremely strong. 



Two days later, in the same place, I saw another one 

 twice as big, and beside it a third one. I attacked the second 

 one (this time with the gun because it was escaping into a 

 crack) and once again I was amazed at the protective 

 squirting — five or six times greater in volume and length of 

 emission than that of the Mediterranean variety. But there 

 was only one discharge. I kept that octopus underwater for 

 about another half hour, but it did not squirt again. 



