News
April 2, 2023 | 8:45
A leisurely walk along Sydney Harbor could have turned deadly for a man and his dog after brushing along one of Australia’s most venomous marine animals.
Jesse Donnison and his dog Otto were walking along Blackwattle Bay in Glebe when he spotted an expensive dog toy floating in the water.
But Mr Donnison got more than he bargained for when he picked up the ball thinking he would make a free toy for his dog.
“I just thought it had algae or something like that on it but then a tentacle came out,” he told NCA NewsWire.
Jesse Donnison and his dog Otto were walking near Sydney Harbor when they spotted the octopus.NEWS.com.au
He initially “freaked out” and dropped the ball, but had a heart-stopping moment when Otto chased after the toy and the creature.
“As soon as that tentacle came out, I knew there was only one creature it could behe said of the blue-ringed octopus.
“I lost it pretty quickly, more than anything I was worried about the dog. Otto tried to get on the ball right away.
“Lucky I even looked and didn’t just throw it for the dog to go get.”
Blue-ringed octopuses are among the world’s most venomous marine animals, carrying enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes.
Due to their size, their bites are small and often painless, with theirs poison that can cause respiratory arrestheart failure, paralysis, blindness and eventually death from suffocation.
“I wasn’t as scared as I was scared. I was expecting seaweed, so it was a bit of a surprise,” said Mt Donnison.
He said the squid started out with a green seaweed color but quickly began to show its blue rings.
Although poisonous, the octopuses are relatively docile, only showing their light blue rings and becoming dangerous to humans when they believe they are threatened.
Just a few weeks ago, a woman was lucky enough to escape with her life she was bitten several times by the creature.
The woman, in her 30s, was bitten in the stomach on a Thursday afternoon at around 2.45pm at Chinamans Beach in Mosman.
“This woman swam and picked up a shell. It contained a small blue-ringed octopus which fell out and bit her twice in the stomach, NSW Ambulance Inspector Christian Holmes said.
“The patient experienced some abdominal pain around the bite site, so paramedics applied pressure and a cold compress before taking her to hospital to be monitored and treated for further symptoms.”
Mr Donnison said the woman was in front when she dealt with the creature.
“I stopped immediately after hearing what happened to her. I knew there were blue-ringed octopuses but not in Black Wattle near Glebe,” he said.
Blue-ringed squid are found across the east coast of Australia and throughout Sydney Harbour.
{{#isDisplay}}
{{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}}
{{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}}
{{/isSRVideo}}
#Australian #man #dog #terrifying #runin #deadly #blueringed #octopus