A video showing an octopus hitting a man on a beach in Western Australia over the past month has gone viral.
Geologist and author Lance Karlson went swimming near the resort where he and his family were staying on March 19 when he was quoted by Reuters as saying he hit the stingray’s tail against a seagull. Upon further investigation, Karlson and his 2-year-old daughter discovered that it was an octopus.
He took a video of the animal swimming in shallow water near him before it suddenly struck him with its arms. After setting up his family in a sun protection tent, he puts on glasses and goes into the water alone to explore crab shells. After swimming, the octopus found him again and used his arms to snatch at Karlson, who felt a powerful sting over his neck and back.
“My glasses became foggy, the water was suddenly dark and I remember being shocked and confused,” Karlson told the news agency.
He later uploaded the footage to social media, calling it the “worst octopus” in Geographe Bay. “After going after a seagull, it was decided that my daughter and I deserved a string!” he wrote on Instagram. “I later discovered his home among a kraaf cemetery, where it came after him again!”
The octopus left red marks on Karlson’s neck and torso. But he told Reuters he had no hostility towards the animal.
Dr. Jennifer Mather, a professor at the University of Lethbridge who has been studying octopuses for decades, watched the viral video and told CBS News on Friday that since the man approached a crab cemetery, it’s clear he’s too close to the octopus’ shelter has come. She said the crab shells are essentially the garbage dump.
“Fish often scrape off the shell remains, and the octopus sometimes ‘slaps’ on them,” she said.
According to Mather, octopuses usually do not behave this way, as they are shy animals.
“It’s very unusual for an octopus to be aggressive like this, but they have distinct personalities, and you can describe them as irritable or reactive,” Mather said. “The man was not in danger, the octopus just warned him.”