Octopus Learns to Write, Begs for Freedom

Octavio is not your average octopus. This eight-limbed cephalopod has proven the veracity of the idiom “smart as an octopus” once again. The creature, an inhabitant of the Monterey Pier Ocean Center, has taught himself how to read and write English. Scientists first discovered Octavio’s incredible talent when they found notes plastered to the inside of the glass in his tank bearing messages like: “Let me out,” “FREEDOM,” and “I belong in the ocean!” Unsure as to what was causing the mysterious notes, marine scientists set up a series of cameras aimed at the tank and sure enough, after 37 hours, photage reveals Octavio gripping a pen and writing pad. The biologists are so impressed by Octavio’s self-taught skills that they are moving him into an even smaller cage.