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Why do octopuses and squids have ink? |
Water Animals
Just like other animals, octopuses and squids need ways of protecting themselves from other animals who might try to hurt them. For example, some animals are able to run away quickly, while others are able to hide among their background by suddenly changing color.
While most squids and octopuses are able to swim away quickly or change color and hide, they also have another option: ink!
When they are feeling threatened, octopuses and squids are able to release a cloud of ink into the water around them. This ink makes the water dark and murky, which confuses the animal who is trying to attack and helps the octopus or squid get away!
Friends from down under (the sea)
Here are some other neat things about the ink of squids and octopuses that you might not know yet!
Some scientists think that octopus and squid ink might contain a chemical that temporarily obstructs the sense of smell of any animal near by! This would be another way that the ink is helpful in escape – a hungry shark looking for an octopus snack wouldn’t be able to smell out the creature he was looking for!
Most pasta noodles you eat are probably a white or beige color, but if you’ve ever seen pasta that is black, it’s usually been colored by squid ink! Have you ever tasted black pasta made with squid ink? It might sound kind of weird, but you might discover that it’s really tasty!