An Australian teen nearly died when he was bitten by a poisonous blue-ringed octopus hiding in a shell he scooped out of the ocean to show his niece.
Jacob Eggington, 18, was swimming and looking for seashells at Shoalwater Beach in Perth when the octopus — which carries particularly deadly venom — bit him.
The teen didn’t notice he had been bitten until after he showed his niece the shell, catching sight of the deadly animal before it could harm her, too.
“As soon as he saw the octopus, he yelled really loud. I grabbed the baby,” his brother, Joshua, told 7 News Perth. “That’s one of the more traumatic thoughts, of what could have happened.”
After spotting the creature, which was no bigger than the palm of a hand, Eggington inspected his leg and found a painless bite — a move that saved his life because it prompted him to seek immediate medical attention.
Blue-ringed octopuses carry a deadly toxin that has no cure, and it took doctors six hours to stabilize the teen after he was carried by stretcher off the beach. A bite from one of these creatures can kill someone within 30 minutes, according to experts.
The animal is often spotted on Perth beaches.
Experts recommend that beachgoers avoid the water without reef shoes and to always be alert, as the creatures are good at camouflaging themselves.
The octopus uses its venom to kill its prey for food.
They live in the Pacific and Indian oceans, typically near coral reefs, according to the National History Museum.
The creature only shows off its blue rings when it feels threatened.
Blue-ringed octopuses are tiny, less than 5 inches long.
