Well, would you believe me if I told you that an octopus residing in an aquarium in New Zeland has been fully trained to use a digital camera and click pictures of tourists? 

I’m not messing with you. Rambo is a female octographer (octopus + photographer) who has been taught how to use a waterproof digital camera worth $300 i.e Rs. 22,000 (approx).

Rambo the octographer’s chosen weapon to impress the group of humans who visit her aquarium is a Sony Cyber-shot TX30. 

The aquarium obviously charges a small token amount of  $2 in their local currency for Rambo’s specialised talent. The fees goes towards the aquarium operations and programs.

But mind you, training an octopus to operate a camera underwater wasn’t as easy as it looks. Mark Vette who is Rambo’s trainer revealed how initially she was hostile towards the alien object intruding her territory: 

On day two, she pulled the camera off, ripped it up, smashed it to bits and spat it out,” Vette recalled in the Sony video.

-Mark Vette

However, over a couple of weeks, with a lot of patience and positive reinforcement, Vette finally managed to train her. Sony New Zeland has recorded Rambo’s learning experience in the form of a BTS video:  

Now, Rambo just takes photos by reaching her tentacle down a tube to push a red button that turns on the camera and takes a photo. In fact, her trainer reveals that she enjoys the game. 

Here are some of the pictures Rambo has clicked: 

Rambo looks like a better photographer than many of the strangers we’ve requested in a tourist spot to capture our entire gang. She hasn’t missed out anybody in the frame! 

Ok, sometimes her tentacle can photobomb but hey, it’s all a part of the fun, exciting experience! 

Here’s another reason to love New Zealand, it has taught us that Octopuses are smarter and stronger than we think.