156 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
others crept upwards and attached themselves 
to his person. As a last resource he drew his 
sheath knife, cut off the arms as near to their 
base as possible, and by this means liberated 
himself from the unwelcome intruder. 
The octopus spends most of the daytime 
hiding beneath a rock, or with its body squeezed 
into a crevice ; but at dusk it comes forth in 
search of its prey which consists principally 
of crabs, whelks, oysters and lobsters. Such 
fare may appear at first sight to be somewhat 
tough morsels for the creature to dine upon, 
but as it is endowed with a pair of powerful 
and horny mandibles that greatly resemble 
the beak of a parrot, it is able to crack the 
shells of its victims with ease and then feed 
upon their softer parts. 
The animal has many enemies to contend 
with, for not only is its flesh considered a 
dainty by mankind, but practically all the 
members of the finny tribe find it a tooth¬ 
some morsel. Of the latter the conger eel 
is accounted its most formidable foe in British 
waters, while among its mammalian foes the 
whales are ever ready to receive it with open 
jaws. 
Notwithstanding the enormous numbers of 
octopods that fall victims to the appetite of 
the denizens of the sea, the creatures continue 
