Shib Sankar Mandal

24/03/2024

30/03/2023

11/03/2023

This gallant mamma is ready to die protecting her unhatched babies! 😍 🐙

Octopus are semelparous, putting all their effort into just one reproductive event during their short lives. So this mom will literally give up her life for her babies, refusing to leave their side, wafting water over them for several months to keep them oxygenated and ready to defend them against any threat, all while slowly starving herself to death.

This female pale octopus (Octopus pallidus) laid her eggs in an artificial reef of installed toilets and pipes set up by a couple of divers in Victoria, Australia - a perfect place for octopuses to lay their eggs safely.

Photographer Jules Casey captured this incredible image not long before the eggs hatched. The photograph won Best of Show in 's 2022 Voice of the Ocean competition.

📷 Jules Casey/