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The Science Is Clear

Readers may remember, an octopus at the National Aquarium of New Zealand, who made international headlines in April 2016 after he climbed out of a tank, traversed the aquarium floor, and slid down a 164-foot pipe to freedom., an octopus at a German aquarium who was already notorious for juggling hermit crabs and rearranging his tank, repeatedly short-circuited an annoying bright light by climbing onto the rim of the tank and squirting it with water. Like chimpanzees, crows, humans, and dolphins, octopuses also use tools.carry coconut shells across the ocean floor before meticulously placing two halves together and climbing inside to hide.snatch poisonous tentacles from the Portuguese man o’ war and wield them like swords. Andimpersonate more than 15 other species.

When it comes to experiencing pain, Dr. Mather explains that octopuses “can anticipate a painful, difficult, stressful situation—they can remember it. There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain.” Shrimps, lobsters, and other crustaceans fulfill all of the “criteria” of pain sensation, including having a developed nervous system and exhibiting behaviors like wound-guarding and heightened protectiveness—just as a dog, pig, or primate would do. And according to invertebrate zoologist Dr. Jaren G. Horsley, “[A] lobster is in a great deal of pain from being cut open … [and] feels all the pain until its nervous system is destroyed.”