Octopus cam: Your key to a happier day

The Smithsonian National Zoo just got a Pacific Giant Octopus. (Weeeelll, sort of. It's a baby, and currently only about three pounds. But it'll be giant someday, promise.) The little critter doesn't have a name yet, but he (they think it's probably a he, maybe) does have a web cam. The camera is set up to capture the octopus at feeding times—11 and 3 Eastern, daily. Which is, coincidentally, right about the time I could use a good cephalopod fix in my day.

Even better, this announcement led me to discover that the National Zoo has a ton of different animal web cams. Seriously, they're set up like a bunch of teenage emo girls over there. Lions, naked mole rats (!!), single-celled organisms, sloth bears (?!): You can watch 'em all live.

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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rennie

The naked mole-ratcam is strangely erotic…
Anonymous

But is he on ChatRoulette?
The Lizardman

The web cams have been a daily source of smiles for me since I found about them after a visit back in 2007. The ferret cam is great later in the year when there are usually newborn kits.
- Speak
  
  I love their ferret cam. I agree that it’s the perfect happy cam when the kits are born. Last year’s 6-kit litter was even more fun to watch the the previous year’s single kit.
Anonymous

I remember spending many a late night watchin Tai-Shan on the baby pandacam when I was in high school- such a good idea! :D