Mother outraged after Texas zoo blames her for octopus attack on little boy after he stuck his hand into its tank

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

A furious mother has clapped back at a Texas aquarium after young son was attacked by an octopus and officials pinned the blame on her.
Britney Taryn and her son Leo's trip to the popular San Antonio Aquarium on July 14 descended into a nightmare when the sea creature wrapped itself around the six-year-old and would not let go.
Guests are allowed to interact with various sea animals at the aquarium, but Taryn claimed there were no employees in sight.
When help finally arrived, the infuriated mother said the staffer downplayed the entire ordeal, saying the creature was 'super playful' that day.
But the 'playful' octopus left the child with bruising down his arm from the suckers on its tentacles gripping his skin.
And while Leo kept his cool throughout the horrifying incident, Taryn wants the octopus removed from the tank for the safety of other visitors.
Aquarium representatives issued a statement regarding the bizarre encounter, telling KSAT Taryn 'leaned her child over the exhibit barrier, allowing him to reach into the habitat without staff supervision.'
The tourist attraction also said Leo was offered medical assistance, which Taryn allegedly refused, and an incident report was filed and signed by the mother.
This statement has left Taryn fuming - as she has claimed the aquarium's retelling of events is fabricated.
'The San Antonio Aquarium's response is not only false; it is defamatory and appears to be a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the serious issues at hand,' she wrote to KSAT.
She also disputed the claim that she signed an incident report, adding she wrote the aquarium an email after the fact, but never received a response.
Taryn said that in the past - as she and Leo are frequent visitors - staff had instructed her to lift her son up over the glass to touch the octopus.
But she went on to assert that the thank 'is never staffed' and people are left to interact with the creatures unsupervised, following the instructions on a sign for 'feeding encounters.'
'However, during this incident, the octopus was already near the glass, which I have documented on video,' she wrote referring to a viral TikTok she shared about the situation.
'My son was able to reach it without assistance. This interaction revealed behaviors we had not witnessed before.'
Taryn consulted 'multiple experts,' who said the octopus' alarming behavior aligns with the symptoms of senescence, which is the decline the creatures experience toward the end of their lives, according to her statement.
She also alleged 'neither the tank setup nor the nature of public interaction aligns with the AZA's [Association of Zoos and Aquariums] standards for Giant Pacific octopus care.'
The San Antonio Aquarium is not accredited by the AZA.
Taryn previously told KSAT she filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
She also said she filed a report with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, contacted her local congressman and reached out to other aquariums.
'I'm just really worried that something worse is going to happen,' the mother said.
Despite her concern, the aquarium has insisted the octopus was simply exhibiting 'typical, curious behavior' when it squeezed Leo.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the San Antonio Aquarium for comment regarding Taryn's accusations.
The octopus incident is just the latest in a series of controversies at the San Antonio Aquarium.
Surveillance video from July 2018 captured three people stealing a horn shark – a species of bullhead shark that grows up to four feet and 20 lbs – from an open pool where visitors could touch the animals.
The suspects disguised the female shark as a baby and placed it in a stroller. It was not returned to the aquarium until two days later.
In the days after the theft, the aquarium said it would not shut down touch pools.