You can never really predict what the internet thinks is popular, but animal videos regularly feature up there. Sometimes, an animal might be doing what it has done for generations, like this walking starfish. But because we don’t usually see it happen, it appears as if it is out of this world.
Today, we will bring to you a walking starfish. In this quite dated video, a starfish has been filmed walking down the beach.
The Story Behind The Walking Starfish
The walking starfish clip was taken in October 2012. It is almost a decade old now. Regardless, the incident was seen in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. However, every once in a while, the clip re-surfaces, similar to a real starfish, on social media sites. And every time, the viewers are amused by the behavior.
But this is not something unusual. Starfish walk all the time, under the water as well, as any marine scientist will tell you. There are a lot of videos of walking starfish as well. Here’s one more:
Simply put, we may think of starfish as stationary creatures who always stick to the same place. But they are not like that. Some of them can even walk pretty fast, comparatively. For instance, a mature sunflower sea star has a top speed of 1 meter/minute. Slower species such as a leather star have a top speed of 15cm/minute. Which is still quite decent.
Starfish are descendants of bilateral animals. This means their walking is similar, with front and back legs. The starfish’s tube feet use chemical adhesives for grip, and propagate using a wave-like movement.
Read: Interesting Facts About The Sand Dollars
However, whenever you see a walking starfish on land, know that it is suffocating. They are completely aquatic animals, and cannot survive without seawater. So, try to put them back into the water.
In the video, the poster clarified repeatedly that the walking starfish was returned to the water, nor was it ever taken out of it. It really was just a coincidence. You might also like to know that the walking starfish might still be walking around somewhere since they are known to live about 35 years.
