Female Female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them.

Question

Female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them, documented in Octopus tetricus

Answer 1

According to the Smithsonian, scientists have discovered that female octopuses do throw objects at male octopuses. Things like shells and silt, they do this especially when they are feeling harassed. Researchers studying octopus in Australia observed that female octopus are responsible for 90% of the throwing activity seen in octopus, and they target males who are trying to mate with them.

source

Answer 2

The claim that female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them is mostly true. A scientific study on Octopus Tetricus found that they throw shells, sand, and other debris. Females are more likely and do it more often than males. Females were seen throwing these objects at males that were trying to mate with them, which makes it seem like they are trying to push them away. However, scientists say we can’t be sure they feel “annoyed” the way humans do, so that part is more of an interpretation. The behavior itself is real and has been observed multiple times, but the exact reason behind it is still being studied.

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-octopuses-throw-things-male-harassers-180978548/#:~:text=Female%20Octopuses%20Throw%20Things%20at,sediment%20several%20body%20lengths%20away.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276482

Answer 3

Female octopuses (Octopus tetricus) have been observed throwing shells, silt, and other debris toward nearby individuals, including males, in natural settings in Jervis Bay, Australia. This behavior was documented in a field study published in PLOS ONE (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276482) and later summarized in science reporting. The article detailing the findings/video from the study can be found here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2287879-female-octopuses-throw-things-at-males-that-are-harassing-them/ 

Overall, the evidence shows that throwing is real and sometimes occurs during social interactions, especially when males approach females. In some recorded cases, the direction and timing of throws suggest they may be aimed at other octopuses, which has led researchers to consider whether this could function as a form of rejection or disruption during unwanted attention. However, the interpretation is not settled. The same throwing actions also occur during routine behaviors like den cleaning or digging, meaning some “throws” may be accidental rather than deliberate targeting. Because of this overlap, scientists avoid claiming clear intent or communication and instead describe the behavior as context-dependent and only sometimes possibly directed. In the case of the video, the female is throwing silt/rocks at a male to deter him from approaching her. 

In short: octopie do throw objects, sometimes in social contexts involving males, but whether this is intentional “targeting” or just incidental debris movement is still unresolved.

Answer 4

The claim that female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them is exaggerated or misleading. It comes from a social media post, which is not a reliable scientific source and does not provide full context or evidence. More credible reporting from sources like BBC and The New York Times is based on a peer reviewed study published in PLOS ONE. In that study, researchers observed a species called Octopus tetricus throwing shells, silt, and other debris in the wild. Some of these throws happened when other octopuses were nearby, including interactions between males and females during mating behavior. However, scientists including Peter Godfrey-Smith explain that the intent behind this behavior is not always clear and may not be deliberate targeting or aggression. While the behavior itself is real, the original claim simplifies and overstates the findings by suggesting that females are intentionally throwing rocks at males that bother them.

Answer 5

Think of this as your investigation log. Answer each question to explain what you discovered and how you got there.
Upon researching the claim that female octopuses throw rock at male who bother them, I was able to come across many sources that cover this topic, some stronger then others. I chose to dive deeper into a report made by phys.org https://phys.org/news/2021-08-female-octopuses-males.html. This report seems to affirm this claim so I then dove deeper by examining where this source got its claim. Plus.org sites https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.18.456805v1, which supports the claim that octopus have been seen throwing objects at other octopus, however it never explicitly states female octopus doing this. I also find it very interesting how much shorter the first source is then the second.It makes me question how much information from physics,org is alleged. So although it is true female octopus have been studied throwing objects, this claim is misleading because it sounds like only female octopus are throwing objects and make untied, when or relaity gender has nothing to do with the throwing that was documented. The throwing is however noted to have a possible connection to social roles. 
 

Answer 6

I found out from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8890558/ by Peter Godfrey-Smith, that this is correct but oversimplified. 

They do throw debris and other stuff, but they do not definitively say it is intentional “targeted aggression,” though it may function that way in some cases.

Study: “In the wild, octopuses throw debris at conspecifics” 

Authors include Peter Godfrey-Smith

Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8890558/

Researchers documented Octopus tertius throwing materials like shells and silt and some throws appeared to hit other octopuses.
 

Scientific study:

Bias toward cautious interpretation; scientists avoid overstating conclusions.

Strong credibility but may under-interpret behavior to avoid speculation.

Direct video observations of Octopus tertius throwing debris.

Some throws hit other octopuses, including males.

Scientists cannot confirm intent as them throwing stuff can be used for cleaning or other reasons.

They didn't answer when I tried to reach out to them.