Wolf eels and octopus, oh my!

[tiggymalvern]

This is the video from last Saturday's dives at the Hood Canal. When we booked months ago, we were debating between last weekend and this weekend. Given that it's been raining much of the day, we made the right choice!

We saw a free-swimming wolf eel. I love those ugly guys, and it's always great to see them like that, because mostly you just see the head poking out of a hole, which gives no indication of quite how much eel is hidden back there. This one was about 6 feet long.
We also saw a giant pacific octopus sitting out in the open instead of tucked into a cave. Unfortunately this one was deep, at around 90 feet/28m, so the lighting is bad. Anywhere my light shines on it, it looks insanely red, and anywhere out of the light just looks green, which is the only colour that makes it that deep. Still cool though!

https://youtu.be/PVmp2GazWUs

Comments

[bymyverytoes]

The water is so clear (mostly :) )

I love wolf eels. They're the Stadtler and Waldorf of the fish world.

Is that wonderful octopus guarding eggs? So beautiful.

Great clip. I've shared it with himself who is in hospital on his back for 3 days following a surprise skin cancer removal and skin graft (the rush was because the surgeon is going away, not because it's serious). When he gets home, he is on extremely restricted mobility for two weeks, so I get to be nurse, bottle washer, chef, and house maid. Please pray...

...for him. He may not survive if he behaves how he usually does :(

Thanks for letting us see this beautiful footage!

[tiggymalvern]

The water was anything but clear for the top 20 feet or so, it was soupy with plankton. But that's fine, it's what feeds everything else! Below that, we had visibility of 20-25 feet, which is good for round here.

Wolf eels are so unspeakably ugly, they're absolutely adorable. They're also intelligent, learn to recognise individual divers who visit them regularly, and become incredibly sociable once they know you. They are friends :-)

That octopus won't be guarding eggs. The ones guarding eggs are deep in holes in the rocks, where their eggs are (I have some footage of that on Sunday's dive, when I finish editing it). The one in the open there is most likely male, though I didn't try and unroll its tentacles to check!

Skin graft suggests it was quite a large area of skin tumour, even if the less serious kind? Or was it just in an area you wouldn't want a scar? Anyway, I hope he recovers quickly and you both survive the experience....

[bymyverytoes]

"The ones guarding eggs are deep in holes in the rock"

That's what I thought, but I was surprised how passive that one was.

"it was quite a large area of skin tumour"

No idea, and he won't have any idea either because he won't have seen it yet. He won't see it until next monday at the earliest because he's forbidden from doing anything to the bandages! It's probably not that large, but it's on the inner shin which hasn't got a lot of loose skin. He had one on his hand last year and it was about 2 x 2cm in total.

I hope he's not going to get many more on his leg because we don't have health insurance, and this surgeon uses a private hospital. Much much money :(

PS, himself says your vid was one of your best :)

[tiggymalvern]

Around here, the only predator of a reasonably large pacific octopus would be harbour seals. They generally don't have much reason to react to divers. Although if you poked one with a stick or attempted to grab it, it would have something to say about it, like most wild animals.

He doesn't even know exactly what they did to him? Damn, I wouldn't go into any surgery without asking what to expect afterwards.

Lack of free skin to close is definitely an issue when it comes to removing dermal masses. How long would he have been waiting if you hadn't gone to the private surgeon? I have no idea what the state of healthcare is in Aus, is it anything like the horror of NHS waiting lists?

[bymyverytoes]

"He doesn't even know exactly what they did to him?"

Oh, yes he does know that. And he knows, he tells me now, that it was a small area. The rest of it is just because it's on his lower leg and and hard to mobilise outside bedrest

"is it anything like the horror of NHS waiting lists?"

Not really. Some procedures - orthoapedics are the worst - have a long list, but most of the time are pretty reasonable.

This surgeon has been looking after us since 2026, and this is the first either of us have been hospitalised for his treatment. We will have to investigate options. Insurance is a bad deal and I believe in the public system, so I want to know what they are.

[tiggymalvern]

Oh, yes he does know that.

Well, I'm glad to know he's that sensible, at least :-)

Yeah, when you find a really good doctor, it's always daunting to have to try and switch to another - it's always preferable to stick with the one you know works well for you.

[tameiki]

Watching the wolf eel swim was mesmerizing as it undulated gracefully through the water. That was a great find.

Your videos make me wonder what is under the surface of the waters I can see. Thanks for taking us with you!

[tiggymalvern]

I can guarantee that most people living around Puget Sound and splashing around in the water and on their boats have no idea that wolf eels are down there. Most of them know about the octopus, but not much more.