A video showing an octopus attacking a man on a beach last month in Western Australia went viral.
Geologist and author Lance Karlson was about to take a dip near the resort where he and his family were staying on March 19 when he spotted what he believed to be the tail of a stingray hitting a seagull, according to Reuters. Upon further inspection, Karlson and his 2-year-old daughter discovered that it was an octopus.
He made a video of the creature swimming close to him in shallow water before suddenly throwing his arms at him. Then, after installing his family in a sun protection tent, he put on some goggles and went into the water alone to explore the crab shells. As soon as he was swimming, the octopus found him again and used his arms to attack Karlson, who felt a strong sting in the neck and back.
“My glasses got foggy, the water was suddenly cloudy and I remember being shocked and confused,” Karlson told the news agency.
He later uploaded the footage to social media and called it “the most furious octopus” in Geographe Bay. “After going after a seagull, he decided that my daughter and I deserved a beating!” he wrote on Instagram. “Later, I discovered your home among a crab graveyard, where you came after me again!”
The octopus left red marks on Karlson’s neck and upper body. But he told Reuters he did not feel animosity towards the animal.
Dr. Jennifer Mather, a professor at the University of Lethbridge who has studied octopuses for decades, saw the viral video and told CBS News on Friday that since the man approached a crab graveyard, it is clear that he has approached too much from the octopus shelter. She said that crab shells were essentially her pile of rubbish.
“Fish often scour the remains of the shell, and the octopus sometimes points out what we call a ‘slap’,” she said.
Octopuses do not normally behave that way, according to Mather, considering they are shy animals.
“It is very unusual for an octopus to be aggressive like that, but they have clear personalities, and you could describe this as irritable or reactive,” said Mather. “The man was in no danger, the octopus was just warning him.”