Terrifying Moment: Octopus Latches Onto Boy At Aquarium, Leaves Bruises
Staff allegedly attempted to downplay the seriousness of the event and initially failed to properly assist.
A family outing to the San Antonio Aquarium turned into a distressing ordeal after an octopus attacked a young boy, latching onto his arm during an interactive exhibit, KSAT reported. The incident occurred on July 14 and quickly went viral after the child's mother, Britney Taryn, posted a video on TikTok detailing the frightening encounter.
According to Taryn, the octopus attacked her six-year-old son, Leo, during their visit to the petting area of the aquarium. She claims that when she reported the incident to aquarium staff, they dismissed her concerns, describing the octopus as merely 'super playful". Staff allegedly attempted to downplay the seriousness of the event and initially failed to properly assist.
Despite trivialising the situation, one staff member struggled to detach the octopus from Leo's arm and eventually had to call over two additional employees. According to the mother, it took the three workers around five minutes to fully remove the tentacles from her son.
'The octopus started to come out, up over the glass. My friend and I were not sure what to do. There's no employees around so we started yelling for help," Taryn told KSAT.
The video she posted shows Leo's arm visibly bruised, marked with suction injuries, what the staff later referred to as 'octopus kisses". The aquarium worker reportedly reassured her that the marks would fade within 7 to 14 days.
Despite these reassurances, Taryn has since sought answers from the aquarium, questioning the safety protocols and asking for internal documentation regarding the exhibit. She expressed concern over the decision to allow the animal to be part of a public petting area, stating, 'I don't think that it was an attack or a malicious attack or anything like that. However, it could become a public safety concern."
The octopus involved in the incident is named Cthulhu and is part of the San Antonio Aquarium's interactive display. As of now, the aquarium has not issued a public response to the incident or to Taryn's request for further clarification.
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