Unit 3 Nature Connections
My Octopus Teacher
I returned to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, where I had spent my childhood, after over ____ years of movie-making.
I went diving in the cold sea off the coast of the Cape, and it was among the dense ____ 5 forests where I met an octopus.
First ____
I saw ____ fish peacefully swimming near a heap of shells.
Suddenly, an octopus sprang from the heap and grabbed ____ fish.
Amazed at the cleverness of the octopus, I swam a ____ closer, but it disappeared.
In fact, it had lifted a piece of seaweed, wrapped it around itself, and was ____ at me out of a little gap.
What an ____ extraordinary creature!
I ____ what would happen if I kept watching it.
To see the world from the octopus’s perspective, I left a camera ____ the den and started visiting regularly.
I even mapped the environment ____ the den.
____ some drama to come, I waited.
Making Friends
The octopus became less scared as I visited ____ often.
After about a month, it came ____ me.
I put my hand out, and ____ reached out to me.
____ another week, it started to wave like a human friend saying, “Hi, I’m excited to see you.”
I ____ still, and it covered my whole hand.
Since I had to take a breath, I swam toward the ____
To my surprise, it rode on my hand all the way to the ____
There I was, just staring ____ the eyes of this incredible creature.
It sparked ____ curiosity in a way that I had not experienced before.
Had I gained its ____
I started reading books about octopuses, ____ I wanted to learn more about this marvelous creature.
The first thing I learned was that “it” was ____ “she.”
Getting Closer
Danger in the form of pyjama sharks, the area’s biggest ____ came with little warning in the sea.
The octopus was moving around near the edge of the seaweed forest, and I saw a ____ tracking her.
____ an instant, she swam into a crack to escape, but the shark was faster.
The shark had taken a bite of one of her arms ____ was waiting for her.
I wanted to save my friend, but ____ this environment, I could only observe.
She managed to get deeper into the crack, but ____ she was bleeding.
After a while, the shark lost interest, and the octopus used the opportunity to get back ____ her den, without one of her arms.
She ____ in serious danger because her arms function like the hands, legs, nose, and eyes of humans.
The next day, I was relieved to see that she had ____
She was weak, and her colors were not as ____
I checked on her every day, wondering if ____ day would be the last.
It was emotionally painful to ____ these things happening to her.
Recovery, Growth, and Sacrifice
____ short while later, I saw that the wound had healed.
To my amazement, a little arm started to grow back, ____ she started to become active again.
I started to compare my ____ to life in the unforgiving sea.
I ____ of what was valuable in life.
I began to spend more time with my family ____ friends, and I even started to dive with my young son.
He became just as interested ____ her as I was.
As the octopus’s arm became more functional, I felt ____ in my life were improving too.
An octopus’s average life ____ about a year, which ends after reproducing.
____ day, eight months after meeting her, I found her with another octopus.
It was bittersweet knowing her final days were approaching even though she would bear ____
After mating, she didn’t come ____ of her den.
There would be no feeding ____ hunting.
She was timing her final moments ____ the hatching of her eggs.
After the eggs hatched, she ____
A ____ months later, my son found a little octopus.
____ believe her story continues on.
I fell in love ____ an octopus and the amazing wildness she represented.
I built a relationship with her and witnessed her life up to the ____ moments.
I saw her from a perspective that I could not have had without this ____
She was smart, sensitive, ____ strong, often going through rough and tough days just like humans do.
Eventually, ____ committed herself to protecting the birth of her young before she died.
As a human being, I ____ something noble in that sacrifice.
She was not simply an octopus; she was a part of this world just as I am a part of it now, and in that sense, we all have our ____ stories to tell.