Real-Life 'Octopus's Garden' Discovered off the Coast of California (Watch)

Legend has it, Ringo Starr wrote Abbey Road’s “Octopus’s Garden” after a sailing trip in Sardinia with the late Pink Panther actor, Peter Sellers.

Sellers told Ringo about how octopuses liked collecting rocks and bottles and shiny things, creating a “garden” for their nests. And Ringo, never one of the Fab Four’s more heady or prolific songwriters, clung to that idea, and wrote a song about it.

“Ringo gets bored playing the drums, and at home he plays a bit of piano, but he only knows about three chords,” said George Harrison. “He knows about the same on guitar. I think it’s a really great song, because on the surface, it just like a daft kids’ song, but the lyrics are great. Because it’s like this level is a storm, and if you get sort of deep in your consciousness, it’s very peaceful. So, Ringo’s writing his cosmic songs without noticing.”

Anyway, totally sidetracked myself there, but researchers recently discovered thousands of octopuses off the coast of California, which they’re calling an “Octopus Garden,” and now they think they know why; check out the footage below:

Turns out, these octopi are nesting here due to the warm currents created by a extinct underwater volcano – thousands of ‘em! Here’s what the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute had to say about their findings:

“Deep below the ocean’s surface just off the Central California coast, thousands of octopus gather near an extinct underwater volcano. The Octopus Garden is the largest known aggregation of octopus anywhere in the world.

“Researchers from NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Nautilus Live first observed thousands of pearl octopus (Muusoctopus robustus) nesting on the deep seafloor near Davidson Seamount in 2018. Their discovery captured the curiosity of millions of people around the world, including MBARI scientists. For three years, MBARI and a team of collaborators used high-tech tools to monitor the Octopus Garden and learn exactly why this site is so attractive for deep-sea octopus.

“Using cutting-edge technology—including many instruments designed by MBARI engineers—MBARI researchers and our collaborators from NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of New Hampshire, and the Field Museum confirmed that Muusoctopus gather at the Octopus Garden to mate and nest.

“Female pearl octopus nest in cracks and crevices bathed by warm water. Warmth from deep-sea thermal springs accelerates the development of octopus eggs. Scientists believe the shorter brooding period increases a hatchling octopus’ odds for survival.

“The size of the Octopus Garden—likely more than 20,000 total octopus nests—and the abundance of other marine life that thrives there underscores the need to understand and protect hotspots of life on the deep seafloor from threats like climate change and seabed mining.”

Ringo’s probably stoked.

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