My Octopus Teacher: You’ll Think Twice About Eating Calamari After Watching This Inter-species Love Story

By Anthony McLennan / Truth Theory

The Netflix documentary starring free diver and filmmaker Craig Foster and his octopus buddy has been wowing audiences across the globe.

The documentary was shot in a kelp forest off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa.

For many of us, getting outdoors is a stress reliever. For some, appreciating nature can even be a spiritual connection to the universe.

The Cut’s description of the film being “the love story that we need right now” is a great description of this incredible inter-species tale.

The story focuses on the amazing bond formed between a wild octopus and Foster, who uses free-diving in the icy Atlantic ocean to counter career exhaustion and depression.

Gaining trust from the octopus

Foster certainly connected in a way that not many thought possible as his unlikely friendship with the octopus blossomed as he slowly built up trust. Once the animal accepted him, an incredible new world was revealed.

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“If you gain the trust of that animal over a period of months, it will actually ignore you to a certain degree and carry on with its normal life, and allow you to step inside its secret world,” the diver said. “The octopus showed me many behaviors that were completely new to science because this animal trusted me.”

Highlights of the award-winning movie include the octopus outwitting a pajama shark, shape-shifting to resemble seaweed and rocks and some ingenious hunting strategies.

But more than anything it’s about the incredible bond which Foster and the octopus enjoy.

It culminates in the creature nestling up on his chest.

“A lot of people say that an octopus looks like an alien. But the strange thing is, we’re very similar in a lot of ways,” said Foster.

“What she taught me to feel was that you are a part of this place, not a visitor.”

Read more: This Is What Plastic Does To Ocean Life

Image Featured: Netflix