Aussie snorkeller's deadly find 'cruising' in popular rock pool
Scott Gutterson has been diving the waters off Kiama on NSW's South Coast for eight years and, despite getting up close and personal with rays, sharks, and even finding a message-in-a-bottle, he was still overjoyed to find a blue-lined octopus earlier this month. The octopus is one of the most venomous creatures in the ocean.
"It was like a 50-cent-sized rock that wasn't moving... I must have got too close because it got defensive and its colour changed a lot," he told Yahoo. It was the distinctive blue lines that drew Scott's attention to the octopus, a clear warning sign from the creature not to get any closer.
The blue-lined octopus, a species of the more commonly known blue-ringed octopus, carries enough venom to kill 26 adults within minutes. However, they are usually very timid. Their bite is small and often painless, often only occurring if the creature is picked up.
There have been at least three documented deaths and multiple near-fatalities from blue-ringed octopuses, according to the Australian Museum.
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Deadly creature 'hard to spot' in Aussie waters
Due to their size and timid nature, few snorkellers are lucky enough to come across blue-lined octopuses in the wild. Scott explained one of his mates has regularly snorkelled at known habitats around Kiama in search of the species, but has left without so much as a glimpse.
"My friend has literally gone to places where they know blue octopuses are there, and hasn't been able to find them. They're very little creatures that are hard to spot at the best of times... That's why it was pretty cool to see," he said, explaining he revisited the rock pool twice after the octopus encounter to try to find it again, but had no luck.
"It caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to see one in the rock pool that day," Scott said.
He explained there was great visibility in the shallow rock pool, and his excitement caused people to gather above him, with one passerby even snapping a shot of Scott with the octopus.
"To see this little guy just cruising past... it was just amazing."
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