Visiting a young octopus in its daytime den - Llop Marí cove, Alicante 🦑

in Amazing Nature • last year

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In summer I always like to discover new places to snorkel and this time I decided to visit the Llop Marí cove, a gravel cove located on a rocky platform that was an ancient Roman quarry.

To the right of the ledge that we see in the image, is the famous ”Llop Marí cave” that, according to legends, the Berbers pirates that devastated Alicante during the 16th century, entered through it and reached the core of the ”Cabeçó d’Or” mountain to keep their treasures safe there.It’s also known that the sea lions, before their disappearance in these lands, took refuge in this cave.
To the right of the ledge that we see in the image, is the famous "Llop Marí cave" that, according to legends, the Berbers pirates that devastated Alicante during the 16th century, entered through it and reached the core of the "Cabeçó d'Or"  mountain to keep their treasures safe there.
It's also known that the sea lions, before their disappearance in these lands, took refuge in this cave.

A little advice: if you're planning to snorkel here for first time, I recommend you to be careful because there are a couple of siphons that suck when there's a bit of swell.

The story that I'm telling you today is none other than the illusion of meeting this cute small young Mediterranean octopus (Octopus Vulgaris) that I'm going to introduce to you, that I tried to capture as best as possible with my GoPro Hero 8, also disturbing it as little as possible.

As you already know if you have been following my blog for a while, I already had a close encounter with an adult Mediterranean octopus with a missing leg that showed me its den (you can watch it here). 

In water.
In water.

I’ve seen something that has caught my attention but I still don’t know what it is.
I've seen something that has caught my attention but I still don't know what it is.

With the water somewhat cloudy/milky that day, it was difficult to see things properly.
With the water somewhat cloudy/milky that day, it was difficult to see things properly.

Better visibility up close.
Better visibility up close.

Here I got too close to it and it felt threatened, that’s why its skin turned completely white (it’s the octopus’ way of communicating anger or fear).
Here I got too close to it and it felt threatened, that's why its skin turned completely white (it's the octopus' way of communicating anger or fear).

Spanish legislation allows the adults sport capture as long as you not exceed 3 daily pieces or 5 kg of one of the pieces, per individual license and it has to be fished in free lung underwater mode.

However, and as is common sense, hunting down these small young specimens is prohibited and entails high fines; neither should you try to catch them or take them out of the water to take selfies, as I have seen some people do.

In my case, I enjoy just watching them.

I only bothered him for a few seconds but he was also curious about me.
I only bothered him for a few seconds but he was also curious about me.

Look at those amazing eyes.
Look at those amazing eyes.

Lots of respect for one of the smartest animals on the planet. 

Video recorded with a GoPro Hero 8.

Photographs are screenshots taken from my video.

Sources on which I relied to give some accurate info about Llop Marí cove and cave: (1), (2)

Source on which I relied to give some accurate info about Spanish legislation about octopus captures: (1)  

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#nature #diver #sealife #octopus #travelfeed #amazingnature #ocd #appreciator #gems #talentclub #upmewhale
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