In an act called “alarming stupidity” by one expert, a woman in Australia posted video on TikTok showing her scooping up a blue-ringed octopus, a highly venomous cephalopod whose bite can be fatal.
“There have been a handful of fatal encounters with these animals,” the Natural History Museum writes.
“TTX [tetrodotoxin] can take effect quickly, rapidly weakening and paralyzing muscles alongside a host of other potential side effects, such as vomiting and dizziness. While increasingly unable to move, TTX victims generally remain conscious and aware until a lack of oxygen renders them unconscious. Death is usually by respiratory failure, the diaphragm having become paralyzed. This can occur within a matter of minutes.
“There is no antidote for TTX, and most care is supportive, such as ventilation to keep a patient breathing until the effects of the toxin wear off.”
When threatened, the blue-ringed octopus displays iridescent blue rings, a sign not to mess with it. Fortunately, the blue-ringed octopus that the woman identified as Katapillah on TikTok never displayed these features, as seen in the video.
@katapillah The dangerously beautiful sea 🌊 #fyp #ocean #blueringedoctopus #immune #stillalive #nature #sealife
♬ Under the Sea (Instrumental) [From “The Little Mermaid”] – London Music Works
Videos of people handling these deadly sea creatures are becoming a trend on social media and is “alarming stupidity,” Ian Tibbetts, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland told Yahoo News Australia.
However, Katapillah didn’t know what she was handling when she scooped up the sea creature. She wrote that “I didn’t know until half hour later what it was.”
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Those commenters on Katapillah’s TikTok sure knew, and were mostly incredulous that she would handle the deadly sea creature.
“You are very lucky,” one wrote.
Other reactions:
“Just that far from death.”
“What r u doing? r u mad?”
“Mate do [you] enjoy dying or something?!!! It’s a blue-ring octopus, throw it back n runnnnn.”
“I screamed ‘drop it…NOW.’”
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Lucky to be a live.”
Katapillah was not bitten or hurt in the encounter.