“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. Author the video, when Karlson approaches, the octopod adopts a rather confrontational posture, facing the camera dead on and slowly gliding forward with its eight limbs neatly coiled.I think this is a fascinating creature with clearly some very strong emotions just like we do as humans,” he told CNN. “ are beautiful creatures and I really hope this provokes more interest in octopuses as opposed to fear of them. He raced back to shore, and as there was no vinegar available, poured Coca-Cola over the raised tentacle imprints on his body, which stopped the stinging almost immediately, he told the New York Times. “My goggles became fogged, the water was suddenly murky and I remember being shocked and confused,” Karlson told Reuters. That was when he felt the octopus attack him again, whipping him across his arm and again on his neck and down his upper back. Karlson returned to the beach and set up a tent for his family before heading for a solo swim to explore a collection of crab shells. “Oh golly,” he can be heard saying in the video, which has now been viewed more than 200,000 times on Instagram. He started recording a video of the octopus when it suddenly lurched towards him. When he walked closer with his two-year-old daughter, he discovered that it was actually an octopus. Lance Karlson, a 34-year-old geologist and author, was going for a swim at Geographe Bay in Dunsborough, southwestern Australia, when he saw what looked like the tail of a stingray emerge from the water and striking a seagull.

Lance karlson octopus video