GB-443-OKE 
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dletxirbed^ I opened tny hand and it swam placidly away. It was not a srsall 
fish as cowfish go — ten or twelve inches long. 
After having spent these evenings Icxjklng at the great nvmibers of fish 
that appear to he deep in sleep along the exposed edges of the reef I simply 
cannot understand how they escape being eaten by the prowling predators. 
Sharks, for instance, do a great deal of cruising at night, arid morays 
appear to be fully awake. This situation does not mke sense. 
Saturday. This morning when we arrived at the shooting area we 
found a visitor. An octopus was in the cage next to the shooting enclosure, 
wrapped around a conch. Tte cage has no bottom, and he had pushed his way in. 
Although we had nothing in particular in mind for an octopus we 
opened the doors to the shooting enclosure, and with a slight suggestion 
on our part he sailed in and cairBS to rest on a rock, very shortly disap- 
pearing into a hole. I placed bis conch next to tlie hole to let the octopus 
know that we bore him no ill will. The two lobsters did not feel ttot way 
about him, however, and went stalking out of range. He is not large enough 
to eat them. I should think, having an armspread of two feet or so. But 
it is obvious tliat the lobsters would prefer him to be soiaewhere else. 
The big crab appeared to be |»iying no attention to the octopus at all. 
The crab is much better equipped to defend itself than the lobsters, 
probably, and its conduct follows accordingly. However, som^ time later 
when Tom and I were feeding some minnows to the -lobsters I noticed Itr. Big 
heading for the octopus, which was finishing the conch. And much to our 
Euirprise a considerable battle ensued, with the erfib apptarently the 
aggressor. V/hether he considered the octopus potential fac«3 or just 
felt belligerent, I don't know. So far as I could tell the crab simply 
