Have you ever seen an octopus baby born? Watching the little octopus swim to the sea, I couldn't help but burst into tears when I saw the mother of the │ octopus in the sea.

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The shy big boy is not good at words, but he loves the sea, and he is even a little crazy. He can swim aimlessly in the water with an air bottle, or he can watch the ecology at the bottom of the sea day and night with a camera in his arms. This time, Hong Yuting spent half a year in Longdong Bay in the northeast corner every night, recording the hatching process of the little octopus. From the female octopus to the small octopus breaking out of the egg, watching the baby octopus swim out one by one, the female octopus silently turned its head to send the child away. At that moment, Hong Yuting also burst into tears in the sea, witnessing the beauty and mystery of marine life.

Octopus knowledge: octopuses mate only once in their lifetime. Every year from February to May, females only have one chance to spawn, and males die within a few months of mating. To prevent children from being washed away by currents or eaten by predators, female octopuses usually lay eggs under rocks or in caves. The hatching time of the larvae is about 4-8 weeks, during which the female octopus stays with the child without eating or drinking until the small octopus hatches and leaves the nest, and the female octopus dies after exhaustion.

Meet the octopus mother and go to sea every night to guard the record.

"when you are diving, you can only see one of these perspectives. If you pick up the camera, you will observe all aspects of the ecology more carefully." As a computer engineer, Hong Yuting fell in love with scuba diving more than a decade ago. He stepped into the fantasy world of the ocean and has been unable to extricate himself ever since. He has also worked as a full-time underwater photographer for two years, shooting documentaries of marine life for the Museum of Marine Science and Technology. He has accumulated solid photography skills and rich marine knowledge.

In May this year, Hong Yuting met a newly born female octopus in the northeast corner of Taiwan and began a half-year record shoot. "this is a story that belongs to my mother." The mother of the octopus takes care of the baby octopus after laying eggs, watching the birth of the baby octopus, and then facing the last mile of her life exhausted. "

The octopus is very smart and is more sensitive to the surrounding environment during egg protection. In order to dispel each other's wariness, Hong Yuting spent a long time "fighting for feelings." At first, as soon as she saw the figure, the mother of the octopus would cover the eggs with her tentacles, and even filled the mouth of the cave with stones to prevent the outside world from snooping. It was not until she got used to the existence of the camera that she finally let her guard down and was willing to let him accompany her.

"when filming ecological interactions, we should try to reduce the disturbing behavior. Once disturbed, the biological response will be unnatural. We should learn from ninjas so that they can't feel my existence, or even if they feel me, they should get used to my existence." In this way, he waited for his mother octopus for two months. every night after work, he grabbed the diving equipment and rushed to the beach until the middle of the night.

Hong Yuting fell in love with scuba diving and photography more than a decade ago and stepped into the fantasy world of the sea and has been unable to extricate himself ever since. (photo courtesy of / Lu Youhua)

Dedicated to all the "sea muggles", I hope that the public will move from understanding and caring to being willing to act.

Hong Yuting laments that although Taiwan is an island country, people are generally too far from the sea. "when it comes to the sea, what do you think of?" Is there only fresh and delicious seafood? When you think of octopus, you think of octopus burning? In addition to white sand and bikini, do you know that there are coral-covered peaks under the sea?

"our understanding of Taiwan seems to be a little worse forever." Because of the distance, most people's understanding of life in the sea is on the dinner table. They have feelings about the issue of marine pollution, but it is difficult to put it into action. Therefore, he hopes to make readers resonate with the undersea world in an interesting and anthropomorphic way, understand that creatures have the same feelings as human beings, and then construct the public's awareness of marine conservation. "the effect of talking about conservation is generally not good. Because you don't know about them, you can't empathize with them, but once you understand them, you will feel, care, care, and finally take action."

Octopus spawning documentary (English version)

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