I n the cold waters of the desolate Aleutian Islands a giant Pacific octopus has tucked itself into a narrow crack in the jagged rock shelf The islands stretch across the northern Pacific and Bering Sea like a broken bridge from Alaska to Asia Around the largest island in the chain Unalaska the water temperature is only 48 F 9 C From its hiding place the octopus watches the approach of a lobster whose movement is barely visible in the murky OCTOPUSES 7
depths The creature scuttles along the rocks half climbing and half swimming As it steps over the crack in the rock a slippery arm shoots out and wraps around the lobster’s body The octopus emerges from the darkness its arms and bulbous body spilling out over the rocks As the webbing between the arms spreads wider another arm curls around the struggling lobster In a flash the lobster disappears into the octopus’s mouth 8 LIVING WILD
