In fact, Chen Qingsheng also cares about the two humpback whales.
After more than ten years of fishing career, Chen Qingsheng values the two humpback whales even more than Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang led the crew to many great harvests on the seabed. Chen Qingsheng believed that the advanced diving equipment Xiang Yang brought only accounted for a small part of the credit.
The real credit goes to these two humpback whales.
However, when Chen Qingsheng saw the ferocious look of the giant squid before, he was really scared.
Moreover, Chen Qingsheng believed that it was entirely possible for the squid to make a surprise attack because it left in a very calm manner without even dropping any ink.
Cephalopods have always been the focus of research for scientists.
Squid is a representative of cephalopods.
The latest research report shows that squids have an IQ that is a bit absurdly high.
Once, biologists gave a common squid a marshmallow test.
The so-called marshmallow test was an experiment conducted by sociologists on children in the 1960s.
In the experiment, children were placed in a room with marshmallows and told that if they did not eat the marshmallow within fifteen minutes, they would get a second, better marshmallow. The ability to delay gratification in the experiment demonstrated human cognitive ability.
In daily life, situations where delayed gratification occurs frequently.
For example, if I am going to have a seafood buffet tomorrow, I will skip meals today and leave my stomach empty for tomorrow so that I can eat more.
Biologists used 29 common cuttlefish as experimental subjects. They first placed the cuttlefish in a water tank and fed them crabs and shrimps at the same time every day for five consecutive days. Biologists found that all cuttlefish preferred to eat shrimps.
On the sixth day, the biologists divided the squid into two groups, one with crabs in the morning and shrimps in the evening.
The other group had crabs in the morning and shrimps in the evening, it was decided randomly.
The first group adapted quickly. They seemed to know that the most delicious food, shrimps, would definitely arrive every night. During the experiment, they ate less and less crabs and liked shrimps more and more.
As for the second group, since shrimps were supplied randomly and could not be relied upon, they would eat the same amount of crabs regardless of whether there were any shrimps every day.
In order to eat shrimp at night, the squid would rather eat less crabs and go hungry in the morning, which means that the squid can not only remember the feeding schedule, but also incorporate this schedule into its future plans and then exercise self-control.
This is very scary.
Eating is an animal instinct, but planning is a very complex action.
Being able to plan for the future means that squids are intelligent.
Moreover, the evolutionary path of squids is almost different from that of other creatures, and it is a creature that is difficult for science to explain.
Even foxes know how to play dead to lure their prey into taking the bait, so the chances of a cunning squid pretending to escape first and then making a surprise attack are very high.
"Captain, let's wait a little longer. Humpback whales have thick skin and flesh, so it's fine. Once we're sure it's safe, we can go down and take a look together."
Chen Qingsheng didn't know that Xiang Yang was more agile underwater than on land, and he was not at all confident that Xiang Yang would go down at this moment.
Xiang Yang shook his head. "No, the squid is cautious by nature. Facing two humpback whales, a whale shark, and a killer whale at the same time, if it fails to defeat its opponent once, it will not tangle with the opponent again."
The squid is definitely an ever-victorious general in the ocean.
When facing creatures of similar size, squids have almost never lost a fight.
Unless there is a huge difference in size or the number is overwhelming, it is difficult for ordinary marine creatures to get the upper hand over squids.
Once a squid loses a fight, it will immediately run away and never engage in a fight with its opponent.
"What about the big fish?" Fang Youqun asked.
"That fish is called a whale shark. Its temperament is the same as that of a humpback whale and it won't hurt humans. I'll go check on its injuries later." Generally, divers will not be killed or injured by whale sharks on the seabed unless they are accidentally hit by the fins or tail of a whale shark. Xiang Yang is absolutely sure that he will not be accidentally hit by the tail of a whale shark, so he is not worried at all that the whale shark will hurt him.
"Docile? I saw it was quite ferocious just now." Fang Youqun underestimated.
Xiang Yang explained: "That's because the giant squid has a lot of astaxanthin in its body, and the giant squid also wants to prey on the whale shark and swallow the astaxanthin in its body."
Astaxanthin is a substance that is very important to these marine behemoths. If there is a fight between these behemoths, there is no doubt that it is because of astaxanthin.
Xiang Yang put on a diving suit, jumped into the sea, and swam towards the humpback whale.
The male humpback whale saw Xiang Yang, gently flapped its fins, and kept itself almost still on the sea surface, allowing Xiang Yang to climb onto its back.
Xiang Yang checked the wound of the male humpback whale.
Fortunately, although the wound looked hideous and terrifying, it was actually just a superficial injury and did not even break the thick fat.
Xiang Yang heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing this and ordered two boxes of squid to be thrown down from the ship as snacks for the humpback whales.
Then, Xiang Yang swam towards the huge whale shark again.
Whale sharks are very magical creatures. When they open their bloody mouths full of sharp teeth, they can even swallow a killer whale in one bite.
But in fact, most of the whale shark's teeth are not weapons for foraging or fighting.
As long as it does not encounter a giant squid or is attacked by other marine creatures, it is generally very docile. When a whale is alone, they like to float on the water and bask in the sun leisurely.
The injuries on this whale shark are much more serious than those on the humpback whale.
The wounds were all over his body, looking hideous and terrifying.
Fortunately, these are just superficial injuries. Compared with the huge body of the whale shark, these huge wounds are just like humans accidentally being scratched by a can. They will heal naturally with time.
However, its body was covered with barnacles, which made Xiang Yang feel uncomfortable just looking at it.
After making sure that the giant squid would not come back, Xiang Yang climbed back on the boat and said to the crew, "There are quite a few barnacles on that whale shark. Anyone willing to go down with me, bring your net bag and we will clean off all the barnacles."
Whale sharks are not as lively and active as humpback whales, which often charge against the waves, but they also travel across the oceans and often appear at the intersection of ocean currents.
Although the barnacles on its body are not as plump as those on humpback whales, it is also a very rare seafood delicacy, and the meat is much fatter than the barnacles on the reefs along the coast.
When the crew members heard what Xiang Yang said, their eyes suddenly lit up. After following Xiang Yang for so long, they now all knew that barnacles were a good thing.