Different countries, similar animals, different reactions..that's today's story about the Squid and the Octopus.
Octopuses and Squids are both head-footed aquatic animals (cephalopods) but they differ in their physical characteristics, habitat and behavior.
An octopus has a round head and a mantle along with eight arms. The arms are endowed with one or two rows of suckers but these never have hooks or sucker rings. Squids are also cephalopods with a triangular shaped head, a mantle and eight arms. Along with that they have two fins on their head and two tentacles. The arms of a Squid are endowed with hooks and/or suckers or sucker rings. The tentacles are arranged in pairs.
About two days ago, a Nigerian woman, Ramota Salawu, raised the alarm that a fish she bought at Gege area of the town suddenly turned into a half human. After several confusion and investigation by the Nigerian Police, the police yesterday revealed that the alleged 'half human and half fish' was a 'baby octopus'. Although many disagreed with the revelation still, sighting the poor educational background and high rate of illiteracy, others felt the creature was a squid, faulting the revelation of the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mohammed Ndabawa.
Thousands of miles away, exactly the same day Madam Ramota Salawu raised the alarm on the 'strange fish' a US citizen told DailyMail how he caught and ate an octopus on holiday - only to discover it was the second rare six-legged specimen ever found.
Mechanical engineer Labros Hydras, 49, pulled the creature - dubbed a ‘hexapus’ - from the sea as he went snorkelling in Greece.
He and his son followed local tradition by smashing it against a rock to kill it and then took it to a nearby taverna to cook.
Fishing: The specimen was pulled from the sea by US citizen Labros Hydras as he went snorkelling in Greece
Hexapus: The chef refused to cook it for him but he fried it himself and served it with tomato and lemon
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| The Ibadan Squid |
The chef refused to cook it for him because it was so rare and told Labros he should have let the octopus live.
But the father-of-two, who was born in Greece and now lives in Washington D.C., fried it for his supper anyway and served it up with a slice of tomato and lemon.
After finishing it off he decided to check out what the chef had said - and felt sick when he realised what he had done.
That first-ever recorded discovery was taken to Blackpool Sea Life Centre, England.
Labros, 49, is now trying to find out more about the marine mutant.
He is also helping sealife experts in Greece with what he can remember of the catch on Papa Nero beach on Pelion peninsula.
Tentacles: it was only the second hexapus ever found, the first being in Wales
Holiday: The family inspect the hexapus before killing and eating it
'When we caught it, there was nothing to suggest it was any different or had been damaged.
'I thought it had just been born with six tentacles.
'We go to Greece every year and when we catch an octopus we do the same thing so we just did not think about it.'
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Ignorance has devastating consequencies.Think of the commotion this woman had caused in Ibadan. Some may have been injured if there was a stampede. Others may have lost various items to thieves and pick pocket who may have cashed in on the opportunity. Well! Knowledge is power
ReplyDeleteInteresting Piece....educatuve ....incisive ..and clear cut journalism. Keep it up NE
DeleteYes this is an educative piece but I am sure that someone will still raise alarm over a MIRACLE FISH in the near future. smh
ReplyDelete