--- title: Everyone Loves This Female Octopus's Rainbow Blanket description: Everyone adores this female Octopus predator-deflecting rainbow blanket, and here's what to know about the rare animal. canonical: https://time.com/5783663/octopus-blanket/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-02-13T14:28:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T19:34:03.000Z og:title: Everyone Wants to Wrap Themselves Up in This Female Octopus's Predator-Deflecting Rainbow Blanket og:description: Release the blanket! og:url: https://time.com/5783663/octopus-blanket/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Everyone Wants to Wrap Themselves Up in This Female Octopus's Predator-Deflecting Rainbow Blanket twitter:description: Release the blanket! twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 'Release the Blanket!' Everyone Wants to Wrap Themselves Up in This Female Octopus's Predator-Deflecting Rainbow Blanket > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: Billy Porter's Grammys Red Carpet Look Is the Ultimate In Glamorously Avoiding Confrontation [Watch (HLS stream): Billy Porter's Grammys Red Carpet Look Is the Ultimate In Glamorously Avoiding Confrontation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PmECgd2u.m3u8) (0:43)  _Published 2020-01-27. Leave it to Billy Porter to bring a conversation-starting look to the Grammys red carpet_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:34 PM UTCPublished: Feb 13, 2020 2:28 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:34 PM UTCPublished: Feb 13, 2020 2:28 PM UTC A stunning [female blanket octopus](https://time.com/5657927/farm-raised-octopus/) has swum into our lives to become a cephalopod-celebrity in just one night. In the [ocean](https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/), a.k.a. deep space, threats abound, but not to worry. A boundary-setting survival icon [octopus](https://time.com/5749613/octopus-catches-bald-eagle/) is charming the internet thanks to this video of her releasing her very own blanket to protect herself against predators. The creature is sweeping social media with a blanket of iridescent shades of deep neon purple, bright orange, magenta and blue. It’s enveloping a lot of people. Filmed by the NAD Lembeh Resort in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, and shared by Open Ocean Exploration, the video is absolutely mesmerizing stuff, and it’s been viewed nearly 800,000 times. And they shared it with this comforting caption “The world can be rough. Politics, viruses, natural disasters. So here is a female blanket octopus to remind you that this planet is still a pretty amazing place. You’ve got this,” > [](https://twitter.com/RebeccaRHelm/status/1227791797545467905) “Blanket octopuses get their name from sheets of webbing that stretch between some of their arms. When threatened, they stretch their arms out, creating a blanket-like silhouette meant to frighten would-be attackers away,” according to the [National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/b/blanket-octopus/). Rainbow octopuses are rare, but our fascination with them is nothing new. A scuba diver caught up with a pair of the colorful octopuses off the coast of the Philippines in June last year, according to [USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/videos/travel/2019/06/04/rare-rainbow-octopus-caught-camera-phillippines/1341892001/). This year, the internet fell deeply in love with [Billy Porter’s confrontation-repellant blue headpiece](https://time.com/5772043/billy-porter-grammys-hat/) at the 2020 Grammys as the ultimate example of excellent self-protection. We’re not saying that this newly viral enlightened majestic being ascending through the sea has unseated Billy Porter’s hat. That would be crazy. But with her brightly colorful, luminous blanket as practical as it is glorious, she’s definitely in the same zone. “Name me another animal with this much drama. This much fashion. This much razzle dazzle. YOU CAN’T,” one Twitter user wrote. See the best reactions to the [female blanket octopus](https://time.com/5403031/octopuses-mdma-study/) below. > [](https://twitter.com/SarahMackAttack/status/1227792602696704001) > [](https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1227807220844285952) > [](https://twitter.com/temptoetiam/status/1227796006827446272) > [](https://twitter.com/IAmPaulkrost/status/1227959123314171905) > [](https://twitter.com/tinyhippo1979/status/1227983679122792449) > [](https://twitter.com/SarahO%5FConnell/status/1227942104111947778) > [](https://twitter.com/shawnapandya/status/1227858427629559808) Learn more here. > [](https://twitter.com/RebeccaRHelm/status/1227955732873666561) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5783663/octopus-blanket/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5783663/octopus-blanket/"},"headline":"'Release the Blanket!' 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