National Geographic’s “Secrets Of The Octopus” on Disney+: A conversation with Dr. Alex Schnell

In Feb. 2024, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Dr. Alex Schnell for the next installment of Nat Geo’s “Secrets of…” franchise premiering today on Disney+. This iteration is focused on the octopus, an intriguing marine creature famous for their characteristics, like their long eight arms, who – according to scientists – are some of the most intelligent animals on Earth.I had an interesting conversation with Dr. Alex Schnell, Marine Biologist and Nat Geo Explorer & Host, who has spent her career exploring the complex memory mechanisms of octopuses.

Dr. Alex Schnell on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. (National Geographic for Disney/Craig Parry)

Interviewing her and learning about octopus’ spectacular characteristics has heightened in me the idea that the beauty of nature and our world is sometimes unknown, but what is important is being ready to learn and listen about the amazing creatures around us. As Dr. Schnell said, they are sometimes overlooked.

This next installment of  National Geographic’s “Secrets Of…” franchise will focus on the octopus. I was wondering if you could tell me what fascinates you about octopus? Are they actually older than dinosaurs?

They are! They have been around longer than the time of dinosaurs. I think the thing that really draws me to octopus is that they are so different: they have taken a completely different evolutionary path, and most species live 1–2 years. They don’t form social bonds or have parental care and yet we are saying these glimpses of intelligence that we once thought were unique to animals such as chimpanzees, whales and elephants! We have a completely alien creature, showing very unexpected characteristics.

How was the entire journey of producing the docuseries? What were your emotions?

It was an extraordinary journey, it’s over 2 years of production. At the time the producers that led the production contacted me, I was 38 weeks pregnant, I was reluctant to participate. The filming was going to take place a few months later and it was the first time that I was gonna be a mother, so I didn’t know how to navigate motherhood and filming. However, the more I heard about the project, the more excited I got about it, so I decided to dive in. It was so incredible. We filmed approximately twelve species across every continent except for Antarctica. It’s been a labour of love. The behavior that we recorded took incredible patience, particularly from the underwater film crew. The editing, making the story together and creating the right narrative took a long long time. So to say, the trailer gave me goosebumps. It was just so incredible to finally see the project come together.

What was your typical day as National Geographic Explorer during the filming?

It really depended on the location and what species we were going to film. For example, on Lizard Island, we were filming the day octopuses, who are active during the day — that’s where the name comes from — and so we would get up pretty early in the morning. We would be up there for about four hours under water. In fact, most of the crew would be wearing rebreathers, which means they can stay in the water for longer. Then we would come back, have a little break in the afternoon and usually do some filming on the boat, to describe everything that we were seeing. They were really long days. When we were filming the blue ringed octopuses and all the other species down in Port Phillip Bay who are night octopuses, we wouldn’t get out in the boat until 6 p.m. Sometimes we wouldn’t get in the boat until 10-11 p.m., working through the entire night.

Camera Assist Woody Spark passes an underwater camera system to Director and Cinematographer, Adam Geiger, in the water. (National Geographic for Disney/Harriet Spark)

The Secrets of Octopus will be released on April 21, on Earth Day. What message do you hope your docuseries will bring on the environment protection?

I really hope the series’ main message is that it creates a shift in perspective for our audience. We know that humans feel the most empathy and compassion for those animals mostly closely related to us, so the ones that look like us, the ones that behave like us. As you move down, across to the evolutionary tree we feel more disconnected to species that look nothing like us, especially the ones without a backbone. I hope we revealed to the audience the secrets of the octopus and all the unexpected characteristics you wouldn’t expect to find in an invertebrate, you know these animals with eight arms and three hearts and blue blood. I wish that the revelation in this series can help remove this barrier of otherness, to help the audience connect with these animals in order to feel more compassionate. We want to protect what we love. I see the octopus as an ambassador of the ocean and of all the overlooked species that we share our planet with. I really hope it creates a feeling of more connection towards nature and to all the animals we share our planet with, not just the domesticated ones.

Are there any other creatures you’d like to explore for this docuseries?

Yes, I have so many ideas! I think I would really like to explore fish as a creature. The reason being is that, similar to the octopus, fish might be considered by the audience as slimy, bit wet or just weird or different. But, fish are so beautiful and show sophisticated traits – like that we can see collaboration in fish – which could shift the audience’s perspective; so I think that would be another animal in the ocean that I would like to represent.

What advice would you like to give to young girls who would like to pursue your own career as a marine biologist?

I think I was intrinsically interested in the ocean, so I became interested in Marine Science at a very young age. Then, when I went into study it, I went in with a very open mind. I wasn’t sure I wanted to specialize, so I took all different types of courses, looking at coastal management, coral rate systems and behavior. I guess that’s the best advice I could give. Keep your options broad and make sure you follow your passions, because at the time, a lot of my fellow students were going into courses like climate change and coral rate because they are in dire need. Although we were encouraged to go, I felt I just wasn’t as passionate about these topic as I was for animal behavior and animal intelligence. I just really stomped with my passion. At the end of the day there is so much sweat, blood and tears that goes into this topic area that you have to really remain passionate about it, because that’s what keeps you going.

How was your passion for animal behavior and marine biology born?

My passion for these topics was born at a really young age. I was very lucky to grow up on the Eastern beaches in Sydney, so I would spend all my spare time at the beach. My first encounter with an octopus happened about the age of 6. I would often go down at the beach and look for sea slugs, crabs and stars. But then on one afternoon I found two very large eyes, rectangular pupils – because octopus have very rectangular pupils – looking back at me. We stared at each other for the longest time. I continued to return and visit this octopus over the course of a few days. We had this incredible moment of connection. I think on the third day the octopus reached out and offered me a handshake; it felt incredible, such an exciting moment. Interactions like that continued to happen. That really commenced the career path that I ended up taking.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I hope that we have created a narrative story and offered a revelation that can help the audience connect to a very different species. When I started my career, looking at octopus and other marine creatures fifteen years ago, people would have responded: “Ugh, they are so slimy and grotesque.” I think they have also been a huge inspiration for sea monsters. You see them in a lot of myths, taking down ships. The time is turning, people are  becoming really interested in octopus and they learn about this creature, for example “The Souls of an Octopus” written by Sy Montgomery or “My Octopus Teacher.”

I really think that our series in particular will offer the audience a very different perspective into an animal that was once overlooked.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

“The Secrets of Octopus” premieres April 21 (Earth Day) at 8/7c, and next day on Disney+ and Hulu.