When Octopus Get Stressed out?

Octopuses can sometimes suffer from autophagy, or self-cannibalism. That is what is described as "eating its own arms." This is caused by stress. A stressed animal is not a healthy animal and is open to infection. It is believed that it is caused by a virus/bacteria which can manage to take hold on a stressed octopus.

What happens when an octopus gets scared?

When scared, octopuses will shoot a dark liquid, sometimes called ink, at the thing that scared them. This will temporarily blind and confuse a potential attacker, giving the octopus time to swim away. The ink can also dull the attacker's smelling and tasting abilities, according to the Smithsonian article.

Why do octopus kill themselves?

Some octopuses have started eating their own limbs and then dying, which scientists originally chalked up to autotomy, a behavior in which an animal will break off a limb for self-protection. The animals would die soon after doing this, and others that had been near it would start doing the same thing.