First Encounters Change Everything
January 24, 2007
The first time I saw a cuttlefish face-to-face my mind reeled. Oh I had read about them and seen pictures and I had no problem identifying what I was looking at. But, my god, I had no idea. Cuttlefish are cephalapods so they are related to the octopus. Tentacles, gottem. Color change, yupper. But, my god, I had no idea.
My first thought was “who needs unicorns when we have this magical creature”. My second thought was “whoever named the ‘cuttlefish’ needs a lesson in branding”. Cuttlefish mesmerize. Yes they change color, but its not like a new coat of paint suddenly applied. Color moves and flows constantly across their skin and it acts like a psychedelic mood ring responding to your actions. If you want to see EEEEK, Wow, hmmmmm, huh, ACK, displayed in moving color then go hang out with a cuttlefish for a while and watch how it reacts to its environment. Its tentacles hang down from its face like some kind of alien snuffleupagus. Its body is ringed with a ribbon that dances like its being controlled by a rhythmic gymnist showing off.
The cuttlefish reminds me that there are many beautiful things in this world that my still camera can capture but only superficially.
