Kicker: Octopus hitches a ride

NICK EICHER, HOST: Scientists studying the coast of New Zealand recently released video of one of the ocean’s most unlikely hitchhikers.

They spotted a mako shark just below the surface with a curious, bright-orange blob stuck to its head. So they sent in a couple of cameras for a closer look. And there it was:

AUDIO: “Yeah, it’s an octopus. That’s an octopus! Aww … ”

An octopus—with its tentacles wrapped around the shark’s head like reins on a racehorse.

And makos are the racehorses of the shark world … clocking speeds over 40 miles an hour.

But how in the deep blue sea these two met is a mystery. Makos cruise the open ocean. Maori octopuses stick to the seafloor.

Researchers nicknamed the unlikely duo “the sharktopus.” They have no idea how the meeting happened—no idea how it ended … though I’m guessing badly.

But at least for a few minutes of glory, this cephalopod was living the high-speed life—like a prize-winning jockey with suction cups.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

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