Chimps, Dolphins, gorilla, turtles, beavers, otters?
Who should rule earth when we are gone?
The octopus.
They are already pretty smart. But they can't pass on their knowledge because after the female gives birth - she dies. Imagine if climate change alters the world (and of course the ocean) in a way that alters the octopus's reproductive cycle and the female lives on. Maybe in 100,000s of years - they'd be smart enough to be like us when we became homo sapiens.
The grim, final days of a mother octopus -- ScienceDaily
But the final days of a female octopus after it reproduces are quite grim, at least to human eyes. Octopuses are semelparous animals, which means they reproduce once and then they die. After a female octopus lays a clutch of eggs, she quits eating and wastes away; by the time the eggs hatch, she dies. In the later stages, some females in captivity even seem to intentionally speed along the death spiral, banging into the sides of the tank, tearing off pieces of skin or eating the tips of their own tentacles. (If you're wondering, the males don't get off any easier. Females often kill and eat their mates; if not, they die a few months later, too).
I once watched a show on discovery that has a future where octopus are swinging from trees in a tropic Antarctica.
I remember that. It was hilarious, they just kinda made up fake future animals and CG"d them. We should cytube that slop, it's on YouTube.
I ate that show up. Title is The Future is Wild. Uncritical support for our octopus comrades.
Maybe they'll get there.
Random thought: I wonder what kind of music they'd make
It'll be very difficult for any aquatic species to advance technologically living underwater. Pretty much anything beyond the stone age requires fire. They can't even use the high heat around volcanic vents because being near those would boil them alive. Even disregarding the fire issue, they won't be doing much chemistry either since all of their reagents would dissolve into the environment.
So the first step in their technological development will require creating some kind of land suit made out of biological materials that can safely keep them alive on land long enough to do some experiments. Octopi will then have a pretty good advantage what with having eight very dexterous tentacles. They'd probably be better at intricate work than humans if they can make their land suits not too restrictive.
Humans, they can't even progress in aeromistry because all their gases just expand out into the air, killing them. Useless! They need to develop some sort of man space covering that'll allow them to work in space to do aeromistry. (I get your point though. This thought came into my head when I was reading your reply and I thought it was funny.)
Humans. They're very nasty. Very primitive. They won't even do aeromistry. The failing CNN and the other lying fake news will tell you they're great but all their gasses just dissipate out into space. Sad!
considering octopi can survive short amounts of time out of water for as long as their gills stay wet, this "land suit" could very well be just clothing made of absorbent materials
Octopi are smart af and the Lovecraft nerd in me wants to say them.
But my heart says corgis.
Octopi have really short lifespans and aren't social. I don't think they're a good candidate for developing complex societies.
TS Eliot, a proclaimed royalist, wrote socialist poems about cats?
I’m intrigued
Its not in the source text but the musical and then the recent movie embedded those themes pretty deeply. When Rum Tum Tigger in the second verse of his name song calls for the expropriation of the large part of the arable land in the jellicle nation to be turned over to the peasantry for example. Or when Mr Mestophales executes that kulakat
Some sort of cetacean probably has the best chance. I'd vote beluga whale because they seem nice and cute. Orcas are killing machines like Chimps, dolphins are sexpest, narwhals are nervous wrecks.
I’d vote beluga whale because they seem nice and cute.
:pog-dolphin:
