SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS Key Art | ©2024 National Geographic

SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS is a new three-part documentary series premiering Sunday, April 21, on the National Geographic Channel, and is thereafter available streaming on National Geographic Channel, Hulu, and Disney+.

Executive-produced by James Cameron as part of his National Geographic Channel SECRETS OF documentary anthology, SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS explores previously unknown behaviors by these intelligent ocean dwellers. Paul Rudd is the show’s narrator.

During National Geographic Channel’s portion of the Winter 2024 Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour, Dr. Alex Schnell, executive producer Adam Geiger, and writer Sy Montgomery sit down together to talk about SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS. Dr. Schnell who is a National Geographic Explorer affiliated with the production. In addition to being an executive producer on the series, Geiger also directs and is a director of photography. Montgomery, who previously penned the 2015 nonfiction bestseller THE SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS, wrote the companion book for SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS.

A lot of the octopuses shown in SECRETS actively want to interact with the humans filming them. Did the filmmakers find this surprising, or just gratifying?

Dr. Schnell says,” I’ve worked with cephalopods – cuttlefish, octopus, squid – for fifteen years, and I’m still always surprised at how quickly they let their guard down and they want to interact with you, with a species that’s ten times bigger than them, and make that social interaction. And even when we were filming, I was still surprised at the new behaviors that we were witnessing, the level of intellect, the sophistication that we were seeing. They take my breath away.”

Geiger elaborates on Dr. Schnell’s role in the series. Geiger’s team “were the primary producers of the film in terms of filming it and all that, and Alex joined us on a number of the locations to look at specific animals, and to give us that incredible insight that she has into their minds and into their abilities, and provide a connection for the audience to an animal that is not something that you look at and immediately feel warm and fuzzy. You will now, I think.”

Is there anything different in filming an octopus than there would be in filming other underwater animals? “Absolutely,” says Geiger. “You are the observed observer when you’re down there with an octopus. They are totally aware of you, of where you are, of what you’re doing, and the only way you can really capture natural behavior is to be there long enough for them to accept you. And that’s quite different from a lot of other marine species. Certainly, cetaceans are I’m sure similar, because that’s a similar order of brain power. But it’s much different than filming fish, which pay some attention, or not.”

Montgomery recalls, “The second diving expedition that I was on, with all these wonderful scientists, Jennifer Mather and David Scheel and Tatiana Leite, that was a blast, [but] it was hard to find the octopuses. I was with a team of very skilled people, who had looked for octopuses of all different kinds all over the world. And day after day after day went by, and we couldn’t even see them.”

Because octopuses are masters of camouflage, Montgomery adds, “Then you think, ‘Of course you’re not seeing them, because you’re probably looking at them and don’t know what they are. Or they’ve melted like butter in an English muffin into their environment, and they’re hiding.’”

Montgomery gestures to Geiger and Dr. Schnell.  “So, to see film like this, in which not only did you find them, but you got this fantastic, intimate connection with these individuals. There’s a sequence [in which] a little coconut octopus just crawled into his hand. I just admire your patience, I admire your eyes, I admire your humility before these animals. And that really shows in the film.”

Geiger returns the compliment. “You were an inspiration to get there, so thank you.”

What’s the most intriguing thing the filmmakers have observed an octopus do?

“It’s hard to hone in on one particular example,” Dr. Schnell opines. “I think the series really exemplifies a lot of new revelations in their behavior. One that I found really fascinating was when we were diving in Sulawesi, in Indonesia, and we were with the coconut octopus. The coconut octopus gets its name because they live in these barren environments. It’s like an underwater desert down there, with hardly anywhere to hide. And so, they go around collecting coconuts and shells, and they carry them around as mobile dens, like an R.V., [and cover themselves with the shells].

“That behavior had been documented. To see it was still really special, but this particular afternoon, this octopus was being harassed by this mantis shrimp, which can have a lethal punch.”

As the “shrimp” part of its name suggests, the mantis shrimp is tiny, especially compared to the octopus, but it was being extremely aggressive and trying to take the octopus’s territory.

Dr. Schnell continues. “We saw this octopus have this idea – this moment was a window into the octopus mind – and it came up with this solution. The mantis shrimp was just not going away, it was being really pesky, and the octopus was trying to blow sand over it, and making itself look big. And then, it just had this ‘aha’ moment, where it swam out of its hidey-hole in the sand, and passed the mantis shrimp, grabbed this shell, and she dragged it back, and she was using it as a shield. This is really sophisticated tool use that we’re seeing. So, yeah, it was just such an incredible moment.”

Throughout SECRETS, individual octopuses are often referred to as “she” or “he.” How do the filmmakers know their genders?

All three laugh at the question. “One of the arms of the male octopus is a specialized arm,” Dr. Schnell reveals, “and sperm packets travel down the arm, and they insert that into the female, and that’s how they pass on the sperm. The way to really tell is to see how willing they are to expose that arm. So, generally, the males keep it tucked in, and if you’re trying to [determine the gender of] an octopus, and you’re trying to stretch out that arm, they’re doing everything they can to keep it protected.”

In other words, if you see what looks like a seven-armed octopus, “It’s probably a male,” Dr. Schnell affirms with a laugh.

As for the lifespan of an octopus, Dr. Schnell relates, “It depends on the species. Most of them live one to two years, but then you have some species that live five years, like the giant Pacific octopus.”

Speaking of ocean giants, what is it like working with executive producer Cameron?

Geiger replies, “The SECRETS OF … franchise really began with SECRETS OF THE WHALES, which Jim was very much involved in. His passion for storytelling, his passion for marine animals, his passion for conservation were really important to us in developing this series, and in bringing it to life to keep that messaging front and center.”

While they’re shooting, do the filmmakers always understand the behavior they’re seeing, or do they have to look at the footage to get the big picture?

“We often don’t know what we’re going to get,” Geiger explains. “You’re dealing with a wild animal that really hasn’t been studied in the wild in any detail. So, we’re looking for particular behavior, we’re waiting for something to happen. Many times, you’re down there, and you see it happen in the viewfinder, and you go, ‘Yes, I’ve got that.’

“But there are other situations where you don’t know until you look back at the footage. We had an interesting shot, where there was an octopus who moved over and went up on top of a little coral, and there was another octopus there, and the two of them were starting to talk to each other, and they suddenly ducked down, and then they came back up, and one of them left. I went, ‘That was weird.’  I didn’t know until I looked at the footage that there was a shark in the background, and they were ducking from being seen by the shark.”

Is there anything in the water that might be dangerous to the film crew? “There are always things in the ocean that can present problems,” Geiger affirms. “Sharks, of course, are a typical one you would think of. In many of the environments we’re in, there aren’t that many sharks to worry about, but there are other things, like stonefish, which is highly venomous. There are stingrays, there are other things, even things like electric rays, which bury themselves in the sand, and you put your hand down and get a nice jolt.”

“Crocodiles,” Dr. Schnell reminds him.

“Mantis shrimp,” Montgomery jokes.

Over the past few years, there has been increasing interest in the octopus, Montgomery notes. “In 2015, when THE SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS came out, at first, there was nothing on octopus. And then, all of a sudden, I don’t know if it’s the zeitgeist – my personal feeling is that it’s the souls of the octopuses who I knew who have now passed on, that they were still reaching out and kindled more interest in these animals. But what [Geiger and Dr. Schnell] have found, what they have documented scientifically, is really, really important. What I wrote about in THE SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS was a love story, and posed some questions. [With] the book SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS, I was writing about their incredible discoveries.”

What else would Geiger, Dr. Schnell and Montgomery want people to know about SECRETS OF THE OCTOPUS?

Geiger says, “I would love for people to understand that these are personalities, they’re beings, they’re an animal to be respected, and their environment should be respected.”

Dr. Schnell agrees. “I would love a shift in perspective, to realize that an animal with such a diverse mind can show intelligence, and to respect that animal, and I hope that has an impact on how we treat them.”

For Montgomery, “I want people to come away with a sense of awe and reverence for these creatures and their world, because if they were our overlords,” she laughs, “we would not be going into 2024 with more plastic in the ocean than fish. So, let’s reach out and make a difference to clean up the oceans. Let’s be more octopus-like.”

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Article: Exclusive Interview: Scientist Dr. Alex Schnell, executive producer Adam Geiger and writer Sy Montgomery on new NatGeo docu-series

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