Holding a Huge Mantis (video )

[Dolf]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

Mine struck out at me and missed and I could feel the wake of the water as his spears whipped past my hand. I could hear the strike as well...

I doubt that your shrimp was wanting to hit you- perhaps just a warning? Our eyesight is binocular- a mantis shrimp is trinocular. If you do a quick search on their eyesight you will get statements such as " Mantis shrimp have the most complex eyes of all animals. Each eye is on a stalk and can move independently of the other. They are each separated into three bands (trinocular vision), allowing each eye to see objects from three different perspectives, giving both of them highly-developed depth perception. They can detect wavelengths from the infra-red to the ultraviolet; in all they can see ten times more colors than humans. Moreover, they are the only animals that can detect circular polarized light (CPL)."

In addition to it's reflexes it's eyesight makes me think that it may have been giving you "fair warning" instead of trying to sever your fingers...

Originally Posted by my2rotties

If you go through people's comments on this video, it is promoting people's desire to own one now... so they can play around with it and bother it... How many people bought one and tormented it? Everybody on this forum cares about the well being of our aquatic life, a mantis is not different.

I doubt that many people have done that simply because a mantis shrimp is not know to have self control and the news has not reported a rash of new reefers being impaled by mantis shrimp. They are smart in some ways but ruled by instinct and if you are going to play with one you are more likely than not going to be hit. My guess is that although the guy in the video is stupid, he has done this many times and that is why he was taping it with very little fear. Eventually any living thing can become accustomed to people and while most are not worthy of the trust that some people place in them, they are, to one extent or another “trained.” Look at Seigfield (SP?) and Roy. One accident with a well trained intelligent animal.

By getting it used to the idea that he provides food and getting it used to his hand over time he likely minimized the chances of being struck. Is it a good idea? no... is it torturing the animal- well, again I refer you the the fact that if the animal felt it was in imminent danger the guy would have lost blood and flesh...

And for the record- I do not feel bad at all in saying that I watched it fully expecting the shrimp to split his finger open and somewhat hoping that it would. I am a proud supporter of the Darwin awards and feel no pity when things that are bound to happen do. When you spill hot coffee on your lap because you are driving don't come crying to me- when your shrimp splits your finger open because you squeezed it a little too hard I am going to laugh. It is just me.