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A 6-year-old boy was left with red marks along his arm after an octopus attached itself to him, according to his mother, Britney Taryn. She shared the frightening incident that occurred at a Texas aquarium in a viral social media video on TikTok.
Taryn also included video footage showing the welts on her son’s arm extending all the way up to his armpit.
She explained in the video that her son had interacted with the octopus at the San Antonio Aquarium before. Normally, the octopus would suction onto her son and then let go.
This time, however, the octopus clung on and refused to release, she said.
When Taryn tried to pull her son away from the creature, it began to “come out of the tank,” as she described it.
Taryn wrote in the video description that the octopus had always been friendly towards her son until that day when it tried to pull him into the tank. It took three aquarium employees to detach the octopus. What was once thought to be a sweet animal bond turned into bruises.
The San Antonio Aquarium released a video on TikTok where a staff member discussed the octopus’ suction cups and mentioned that people might get “hickies” or “octopus kisses” from them.
The aquarium further stated that the octopus was not aggressive or trying to harm the child. Staff members promptly intervened to ensure the child’s safety and the incident was documented in an incident report.
The aquarium emphasized that the giant Pacific octopus is well-cared for and does not exhibit harmful behavior towards guests. While octopuses are intelligent and curious creatures, there are inherent risks with any animal encounter, which is why strict safety protocols are in place.
