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“The octopus lashed out at us, which was a real shock,” Karlson said in emailed comments to Reuters.Īfter setting up a sun protection tent for his family on the beach, 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. Geologist and author Lance Karlson was about go for a swim near the resort where he and his family were staying on March 19 when he spotted what he believed was stingrays tail striking a seagull, according to Reuters. 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 Karlson’s direction with its tentacles. A video showing an octopus lashing out at a man on a beach last month in Western Australia has gone viral. 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 southwest coast, when he spotted what he thought was the tail of a stingray emerging from the water and striking a seagull. "The man was in no danger, the octopus was just warning him off.A swim on holiday at a Western Australia beach has resulted in a painful octopus “whipping” - and a video of the encounter that has gone viral. "It's very unusual for an octopus to be aggressive like this but they have clear personalities, and you could describe this one as irritable or reactive," Mather said. Octopuses don't typically behave this way, according to Mather, considering they're shy animals. "Fish often scavenge the shell remains, and the octopus sometimes aims what we called a 'slap' at them," she said. She said the crab shells were essentially its garbage heap. 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's clear he got too close to the octopus' shelter. But he told Reuters that he felt no animosity toward the animal.ĭr. The octopus left red marks on Karlson's neck and upper body. "I later discovered its home amongst a crab graveyard, where it came after me again!" "After going after a seagull it then decided my daughter and I deserved a lashing!" he wrote on Instagram. He later uploaded the footage on social media and called it the "angriest octopus" in Geographe Bay. "My goggles became fogged, the water was suddenly murky and I remember being shocked and confused," Karlson told the news agency.
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Once he was swimming, the octopus found him again and used its arms to lunge at Karlson, who felt a forceful sting across his neck and back. Then, after setting up his family in a sun protection tent, he put on some goggles and went into the water alone to explore crab shells.
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He took a video of the creature swimming near him in shallow water before it suddenly launched its arms at him. Upon further inspection, Karlson and his 2-year-old daughter discovered it was an octopus. Geologist and author Lance Karlson was about go for a swim near the resort where he and his family were staying on March 19 when he spotted what he believed was stingray's tail striking a seagull, according to Reuters. A video showing an octopus lashing out at a man on a beach last month in Western Australia has gone viral.