"The octopus lashed out at us, which was a real shock," Mr Karlson said in e-mailed comments to Reuters.Īfter setting up a sun protection tent for his family on the beach, Mr Karlston put on goggles and went in the water alone to explore a collection of crab shells, which he believed were left by dead sea creatures.Īs he was swimming, he felt another whip across his arm - followed by a more forceful sting across his neck and upper back. Upon walking closer with his two-year-old daughter, he discovered it was an octopus, and took a video, which shows the animal in shallow water take a sudden strike in Mr Karlson's direction with its tentacles. Geologist and author Lance Karlson was about to take a dip near the resort he and his family were staying at in Geographe Bay, on Australia's south-west coast, when he spotted what he thought was the tail of a stingray emerging from the water and striking a seagull. I think this is often pre-emptive aggression, meant to signal ‘don’t mess with me,’ rather than aggression seriously meant to harm the ‘invader.SYDNEY - A swim while on holiday at a Western Australia beach has resulted in a painful octopus "whipping" - and a video of the encounter has gone viral. “Octopuses will lunge or shoot an arm out when they feel a fish, another octopus or a human is in their space. “My guess is that the octopus here is sending a warning meaning ‘back off,’” he tells the Times after watching the video. Peter Ulric Tse, a neuroscientist at Dartmouth College who studies octopus cognition, tells the Times via email that octopuses “can express what we would call aggression when they feel threatened or when they feel their territory is under threat.” The authors of the paper documented instances of octopuses “punching” fish that got too close for the eight-armed boxer’s liking. According to research published late last year, this sort of aggressive-seeming behavior is not unheard of. Pungor, tells the Times that what Karlson thought was the octopus coming back to finish the job may have actually been the work of “one of the many stinging, tentacled, jellyfish that are abundant in Australian waters.”īut the octopus does still have to answer for its shallow water show of force. Marine biologist Judit Pungor, who studies octopuses at the University of Oregon, tells the Times in an email that octopuses “do not have venom in their suckers, and any venom they do have (in their bites, not on their arms) would not be alleviated by pouring something acidic over it.” They are amazing creatures that clearly have some strong emotions (just like us)!”īut if the stinging welts don’t quite sound like the work of an octopus to you, then you’re in good company. “I am worried that people will view octopuses in a different light. “This was clearly the octopus’s domain,” he tells Reuters. None the worse for wear, Karlson harbors no ill will towards the creature. Luckily, Karlson’s hunch was correct, as the stinging swiftly abated after his wife poured the soda over the affected areas. After searching in vain for vinegar to treat the stings, he snagged a bottle of soda, which he reasoned might be acidic enough to do the trick. Karlson, a former lifeguard, collected his family and returned to their hotel room. The octopus, he thought, got him after all. Once he got to shore, Karlson says streaks of red, stinging welts took shape across his arm, neck and back that appeared to mirror the shape of an octopus’ sucker-studded arm. “My goggles became fogged, the water was suddenly murky and I remember being shocked and confused,” Karlson tells Reuters.
Around 100 feet from shore, he noticed a strangely organized looking pile of shells nestled on the seafloor.Īs he swam for a closer look, Karlson felt a stinging slap on his arm and then again across his neck and upper back. More amused than frightened by the cephalopod's attempted swat, Karlson strapped on his goggles and ventured into the sea alone about 20 minutes later, per the Times. In an interview with Daniel Victor and Heather Murphy of the New York Times Karlson says he regrets his “cheesy, almost British” reaction, but was glad he refrained from swearing in front of his young daughter. “The octopus lashed out at us, which was a real shock,” Karlson tells Reuters via email.ĭespite his professed shock, the video of the encounter is punctuated by a rather placid “Oh, golly!” from Karlson.
Then, to Karlson’s surprise, the octopus suddenly unleashed a multi-armed attack that sent tentacles flying out of the water and into the air.
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