Shapeshifters: Octopus Superpowers (Full Episode) | Secrets of the Octopus

Beneath the waves lives a mysterious creature, older than the dinosaurs. Octopus. So incredibly alien, changing color in an instant, shape-shifting into almost anything. They are the planet's true masters of disguise. Now we're discovering they are one of the most intelligent beings on the planet. Two years immersed in their world reveals they use tools. I felt completely shocked at the level of statistication that I was witnessing. Think creatively, communicate with other species, and maybe even dream. I wonder sometimes if the octopuses are dreaming about me, wondering what I am, who I am. We're just beginning to understand what they have to tell us. I have just had a conversation with an octopus. The Great Barrier Reef, the biggest coral structure on the planet. Octopus are so alien, it's hard to know what you're looking at. She, and the 300 other species, share some similar quirks. A siphon that propels her through water. A soft, boneless body conceals a razor-sharp beak for crushing fish and crabs. Two bulbous eyes sit above a big, powerful brain that's capable of something extraordinary. She can transform the color, shape, and texture of her body in a fraction of a second. National Geographic explorer, Dr. Alex Schnell, has spent 15 years immersed in the world of the octopus. Octopuses are the ultimate shapeshifters. They can choose when to hide and when to reveal themselves. And studying this behavior has offered a window into how they think. Every dive brings her closer to these elusive animals. She has privileged access to their extraordinary shapeshifting skills. A superpower that makes them hard to spot. Your mind starts to play tricks on you and everywhere you look you feel like, that's an octopus. Is that an octopus over there? I think that's one over there. The minute you kind of give up and you're like, okay, I'm not going to look anymore, something that you think is a piece of algae or a piece of coral suddenly moves. Alex is face to face with a day octopus. Octopus sizes Alex up. She's not really sure about me at the beginning, but we're eye to eye and her skin becomes smooth as if to reveal herself. She becomes so relaxed that she starts to clean herself, covering her eyes even though I'm right in front of her. And maybe that's a sign that she's beginning to trust me. When she reached out her arm and put her suckers on my hand, it just felt like a life changing moment. And then she turns to look at me as if to say, are you coming? She allows Alex to follow her as she cruises along the coral until something spooks her. Reef sharks. Ten times her size. No way she can out swim these dangerous predators. But the day octopus reveals that she has something much better than speed. Invisibility. Every time there's danger, the day octopus melts into her surroundings. One of the things that makes octopus so amazing is that their brain is connected directly to muscles in their skin. And these muscles are connected to about 20 million sacks of different colored pigments. By stretching and relaxing each of the tiny sacks, the octopus can produce an endless array of patterns and colors. And she can do it all in one fifth of a second. The perfect disguise. Her trick is all the more astounding given that she, like all octopuses, is colorblind. She doesn't need to see the color to be the color. We now know that octopus skin is sensitive to light, which suggests that they can see with their skin. Not in the way that they might be able to detect an image, but their skin is sensitive to hues, shadows, and colors so that they can detect their environment changing around them. To keep herself safe, the day octopus transforms hundreds of times a day. And over weeks, she allows Alex to see every shade, hue, and pattern. They become close. When I started studying octopuses, it was difficult to tell differences between individuals. But if you study them for long enough, you'll see little imperfections on their skin. And this day octopus had a little scar below her eye. And that's why I named her Scarlet. Time with Scarlet shows Alex that color changing is only half of her skill set. Using small muscular structures similar to what we have on our tongue, octopuses can change the texture of their skin. So they can go from super smooth to really spiky in less than a second. But what blows my mind is they don't actually need to touch any of the texture that they're matching. They can match the texture just by looking at it. It's getting late, which means more predators. The crevice in the coral is a safe den for the night. So unfazed now by Alex's presence, Scarlet's happy to drift off to sleep. All octopuses may not have Scarlet's ability for shape-shifting, but most can change color. And for some, survival depends not on blending in, but standing out. Near the southern tip of Australia, this pier is home to the weird and wonderful, as well as one of the deadliest animals on earth. But unlike the day octopus, she comes out when the sun goes down. This is a female blue-ringed octopus, a mom-to-be. She's small, the size of a golf ball. She can blend into the background if she wants to, but it's not really her style. Her bright blue rings send a strong message, a warning. A single bite from her hidden beak releases enough neurotoxin to kill an adult human in minutes. Don't mess with her, especially today. She's ready to lay her eggs. But it's getting darker, bringing out the reef's big boys. A smooth stingray, hunting on the seabed. She's not scared of him. She has enough venom to easily kill a ray. But the growing darkness is more of a problem. In the gloom, the octopus's blue rings lose their vibrancy. If the ray attacks, death to them both. So she does something that only blue-ringed octopus can do. Triggering muscles to reveal thousands of light-reflecting cells in her rings, she dials up her color. While also upping the contrast by darkening the skin around them. The ray gets the message loud and clear. This is one of the brightest warning displays of any animal on Earth. Now she can concentrate on laying her eggs. Somewhere out of reach, to all but the most flexible. Those babies have one killer mom. Octopuses combine their smarts and shapeshifting skills to expertly decide when to hide and when to stand out. But some use this alien-like superpower in other ways. Something Dr. Alex Schnell wants to witness. Now that she has gained her trust, Alex hopes Scarlet will allow her, and colleague Dr. Roger Hanlon, a world expert in octopus camouflage, to watch her hunt. There's not another animal group on the Earth that can change as fast with as much diversity. He knows that day octopuses are extraordinary. I call this one the king of camouflage. Or in this case, the queen. Does she recognize me? My emotions and my heart say yes. Then, just like before, she reaches out to me. It seems Roger has been accepted too. They can both follow Scarlet as she heads off to hunt. Small fish and crabs are her favorite. But they like to hide deep in the coral. Not a problem when your eight arms can delve into the tiniest openings. Octopus arms are incredible. They're sensory and smart, and they can move even without the brain having to tell them. And without bones or joints, they're the most flexible limbs on the planet. They can lengthen, shorten, and bend in any direction. Her large brain acts as a control center for further brain-like structures. Found in each of her sucker-lined arms. An octopus have 200 suckers on each arm. And each sucker is so sensitive, it's like having a fingertip, nose, and a tongue all in one. Imagine how sensitive the world would be to an octopus. But to hunt, she needs to focus. Scarlet must concentrate on her prey. Become it. Reef sharks are always on the lookout for an easy meal. This time, Scarlet uses her talents not to blend in, but to confuse. She mixes up her colors and patterns, breaking up her outline. It's called disruptive coloration. She can change her appearance more than 170 times every hour. The sharks should swim right by. But this one isn't so easily fooled. She's got one last trick, and she's left the best till last. Stretching the skin on her arms, taut and wide, she flashes white. It's purposefully weird. That flash is meant to make a predator hesitate to say, is that what I want to eat or not? This is a thinking, cogitating animal. It's making decisions every moment of the way. I really find that extraordinary. Finally, a tasty crab, even if she really had to pull out all the stops to get it. Day octopus are masterful shapeshifters, but they have a cousin who uses its intelligence to take these skills to the next level. By creating the ultimate deception. Lush, tropical jungle. On the shores of the Lembeh Strait. Beneath the water. Featureless floor of volcanic sand. A problem for this octopus. There's nowhere to hide and lots of hungry predators. This flounder will rip the arm off an unfortunate octopus. He could change color, but in this exposed spot, it might not be enough. Time for some next level shapeshifting. He transforms into such a good likeness of his enemy, he fools even a real flounder. Shape, color, movement, an impersonation so good, it's earned him his name. The mimic. He drops the disguise when he spots prey. Food's hard to find here, unless you're a mimic. But the quest for his next meal has brought him into someone else's territory. Damselfish. They hate strangers invading their space. And they've got a nasty bite. So the mimic transforms into the one thing they won't mess with. The venomous sea krait. Their worst nightmare. The damselfish are certainly convinced. An Oscar-worthy performance. But he's still hungry. Patches of coral can be a good place to find food. But everyone's had the same idea. Moray eels, groupers, and the reef's most aggressive predator, the venomous lionfish. But the lionfish's fearsome reputation? Now this he can use. By adopting the fish's distinctive shape and pattern, the mimic warms off other predators. Including real lionfish. While he may not look exactly like a lionfish to us, it's how he appears to other animals that counts. The patch of coral is now his to hunt. This kind of shape-shifting hints at something unique. The mimic isn't just copying. He appears to know how other creatures see him. He's aware of what each one is scared of and can exploit their fear. This is strategy and manipulation. Traits we associate with human-like intelligence. Shape-shifting is an art that octopus have perfected. Transforming themselves to find food and avoid becoming someone else's. But what happens when two masters of disguise meet? Scarlet, the day octopus, is resting on the reef. After months of dives, she's now very used to her visitors and willing to let them into the most intimate moment of her life. Scarlet's distracted. Another day octopus. Could it be a potential mate? Scarlet's now just over a year old. She may have already mated with several males and stored packets of their sperm inside her. She can even choose to mix the packets to fertilize her eggs. But she's keeping her options open. If a better suited male comes along, she'll get rid of these stored packets and use his alone. They touch, sucker to sucker, to check each other out. Yes, he's male. And he's indoor. But Scarlet's not won over so easily. She wants to see what he's made of. And he'll be judged on his shapeshifting. A slow dance of changing color. Rippling his skin, he shows off new bumps. A display that could attract predators. But he can't afford to blend in. He must risk everything for her. Now Scarlet's interested. Captured for the very first time. Her arms reach inside her body. And she expels the sperm from her previous encounters. It's an invitation. As he unfurls his arm, she accepts his advances. This is a specialized mating arm found only in male octopus. A white sperm packet moves down a groove in the arm and into Scarlet. It's the beginning of a new generation. I've got to tell you, I've seen some of this before with this species, but I'd never seen what I saw today. We've learned something scientifically. I typically see octopuses on their own. It's rare to even see them interact. So to see two octopuses mating, it's such an intimate moment. And such a rare sight to see in the wild. Each one of Scarlet's babies will inherit her smarts and shapeshifting skills. Octopuses are the only animals in nature able to transform their bodies so completely in the quest to stay safe, feed, and mate. The time spent in Scarlet's world has opened Alex's eyes to her potential. Just what more might these extraordinary animals be capable of? I've been lucky enough to build a relationship with the day octopus and see her mate in the wild and see the way that she uses her skin to communicate and also to hide. But there's still so much more to discover. There's so many more secrets to reveal.