The animal that hypnotizes its prey with a light show
This animal hypnotizes its prey with a moving light show on its own skin.
The short version
The cuttlefish stuns prey by pulsing hypnotic bands of color across its skin, then strikes with two long tentacles. It can change its color and skin texture in under a second to vanish against any background — all while being completely colorblind — and it's smart enough to pass a self-control test that stumps some children.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Cuttlefish hypnotizes its prey by pulsing moving bands of color across its skin, freezing the target in place.
- ✓The Cuttlefish can change its color and even the texture of its skin in under a second to vanish against rock, sand, or coral.
- ✓The Cuttlefish fires out two long feeding tentacles faster than your eye can follow to snatch a crab.
- ✓The Cuttlefish pulls off all of its color-shifting tricks while being completely colorblind.
- ✓The Cuttlefish can pass a patience test that stumps some human children.
The full story
This animal hypnotizes its prey with a moving light show on its own skin. Meet the cuttlefish, one of the strangest and smartest hunters in the entire sea. When it spots a crab, it pulses shifting bands of color down its body like a rolling hypnotic screen, freezing the crab in place. Then it fires out two long feeding tentacles faster than your eye can follow and snatches it. Even weirder, the cuttlefish is a master of disguise. In under a single second it can change its color and even the texture of its skin to vanish against rock, sand, or coral. And here is the real twist. It does all of this while being completely colorblind. It can also pass a patience test that stumps some human children. A hypnotist, a shapeshifter, and a genius. Follow for more weird animal facts.
Watch the 45-second version
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