WHAT EATS AN OCTOPUS?

East Pacific Red Octopus
What Eats An Octopus? Photo:Kurt L. Onthank

What eats an octopus?

What does an octopus eat?

Octopuses, or octopi, have the most to fear from sharks and other large fish that like to eat them. In order to confuse their predators, or natural enemies, most kinds, or species, of octopus are able to spray a cloud of dark ink. The ink keeps the predator from seeing clearly, and the octopus gets away.

But all octopuses also have a poisonous bite to further discourage predators as well as to catch their own prey.
Some types of octopus poison are deadly, and can kill a full-grown person within a few minutes.

What do octopi, or octopuses eat? An octopus mainly eats fish and shellfish.




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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.