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.

Answer 7

@yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social posted a video on X claiming that female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them, documented in Octopus tetricus. The source posted a video with it that looked suspiciously like AI. After further investigation, I confirmed that this was an AI video, but the idea is that octopuses throw things at other octopuses when attempting to mate with them.

According to the Physical Organization, researchers conducted a study and “were able to see that the female octopuses engaged in multiple types of object-throwing. In most instances, throwing material such as silt or even shells was simply a means of moving material that was in the way or when building a nest” (Yirka 3).

Another source that I investigated was Popular Science. They found similar things in their studies, stating, “octopuses deliberately throw debris like silt and shells, sometimes directed at other octopuses, for the first time.” This source confirmed the first statement that octopuses do indeed throw things like silt and stone at other octopuses.

To conclude, female octopuses often throw things at other octopuses as a way of guarding territory, showing dominance, for mating, or for no clear reason at all.

Answer 8

This claim seems to be true. An article by the Smithsonian confirms that female octopi have been observed to throw rocks, shells, and other objects at male octopi. They do this to maintain space or to drive away harassers. Octopi have been observed to project objects in order to create and clean dens, however the observation of the deliberate throwing of objects at other octopi is relatively recent.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-octopuses-throw-things-male-harassers-180978548/

Answer 9

After investigation, I can confirm that this is true. My primary source to back up this claim is an article from the Smithsonian Magazine, "Female Octopuses Throw Things at Male Harassers" (2021). The article states that scientists have observed Sydney octopuses launching shells and rocks at males that bother them. It is also stated that "It’s pretty rare. Especially rare is throwing of objects at other members of the same population,” says Godfrey-Smith to New Scientist.

A seconddary source that I found that also supports this claim is from New Scientist: "Female octopuses throw things at males that are harassing them" (2021). This article actually includes a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeuSwoXxRbs&t=22s) that explicity shows footage of a female octopus feeling harassed and throwing shells and other debris at the harraser. Peter Godfrey-Smith, who among other colleuges orginally discovered this and filmed the footage, was not sure if this act was intentional, but after more footage was collected and analyzed, they were able to distinguish between throwing to defend themselves and throwing debris to clear out dens (something commonly done by octopuses)

Overall, from these two sources I can confirm this claim and also state that these sources stray away from bias because the information has come from scientists and researches and backed up with video evidence.

Answer 10

The claim that female Octopus throw rocks at males that bother them originates from a social media post on Bluesky, which is not a reliable primary source due to its lack of verified expertise or scientific credibility. However, more trustworthy coverage from outlets like BBC and National Geographic traces this behavior back to a 2022 peer-reviewed study published in Plos One by researchers including Peter Godfrey-Smith. In this study, scientists observed octopuses deliberately gathering and propelling debris such as shells, silt, and small rocks, sometimes hitting other octopuses, with females more frequently targeting males during mating interactions. While this supports the core of the claim, the original research describes the behavior more cautiously as “targeted throwing” rather than intentional emotional retaliation, meaning the viral phrasing slightly exaggerates the scientific findings even though it is broadly grounded in real evidence.