The amazing footage shows a large octopus grabbing ahold of a man and his camera equipment. The diver has all of his gear on and is holding a large camera rig. Fortunately, he is following one of the cardinal rules of diving, and that is to always have another person diving with you. In this case, the buddy diver is able to capture the once-in-a-lifetime encounter on his own video equipment.
Progression of an Attack
The octopus begins by wrapping one long tentacle around the diver’s wrist. The diver is holding a large camera with lights and other equipment in one hand and is unable to remove the octopus before it gets two more tentacles around his shoulders. The man moves his head back and forth and wriggles his shoulders, trying to dislodge the octopus. When that doesn’t work, he uses his free hand to pull the tentacles away from his face. He manages to remove one from his shoulder, but the octopus moves them up to the top of his head. The diver gets free of the tentacles wrapped around him and gives his buddy diver a thumbs up. Now octopus-free, the diver turns to address the tentacles that are on his camera rig. He uses the same tactics, moving rapidly from one tentacle to the other to keep the octopus from getting a firm grip. The diver pushes upward, trying to get away from the octopus. Unfortunately, the octopus already has enough of a grasp to just go along for the ride. Still having a firm grasp on the camera, the octopus tries to pull away, using its body motion to push itself through the water. Does it think that it can do a better job of capturing the immensity of the open ocean on film? The diver isn’t about to let the octopus swim away with the expensive rig, however. He pushes it up to disorient the octopus, grabbing the camera as it comes back down. At this point, the video ends, and we are left wondering if the octopus did make its dreams of being a photographer come true. The more likely story is that the buddy diver intervened to help get the camera back, and the octopus went on its way.
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