Dire warning to parents as a blue-ringed octopus crawls on to a family's beach towel after hiding in a shell a child collected

  • Parents issue warning after finding blue-ringed octopus at Yarra Bay Beach
  • Local family discovered deadly octopus hidden in children's shell collection 
  • Blue-ringed octopus known as one of world’s most venomous marine creatures

By Kirsten Jelinek For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

A beach-goer has issued a desperate warning to parents after he found a deadly blue-ringed octopus hiding in a shell his child collected. 

Randwick City Council shared pictures of the blue-ring octopus on Facebook, after a man found the creature on Yarra Bay beach, New South Wales on Monday. 

The Randwick resident Andrew has reminded parents to remain vigilant after he took his kids down to the beach for an afternoon swim. 

Randwick City Council has reminded beachgoers to stay vigilant after a local family discovered a blue-ringed octopus after hiding in their children's shell collection

Randwick City Council has reminded beachgoers to stay vigilant after a local family discovered a blue-ringed octopus after hiding in their children's shell collection 

After his children picked up a few shells from the shore line, the father noticed a peculiar sight scamper across the family's towel.  

'Our 11-year-old son set a couple of shells down on a beach towel my wife was sitting on and then a few moments later this little fella and another scampered across the towel,' he said.  

A deadly blue-ringed octopus emerged from the shells, startling the family.   

'The funny thing is that we'd spoken recently with the kids about how the Blue Ringed Octopus could be found around the area and that they're super deadly, however we never really expected to see one,' he said. 

The octopus was eventually returned to the ocean, far away from fellow beachgoers. 

Despite the shocking discovery, Andrew said no children or octopuses where harmed.   

'Their (blue-ring octopuses) rings lit up so blue when they swam away. It was incredible,' he said. 

Local residents were quick to comment on the photo. 

A family found a blue-ringed octopus during an afternoon swim at Yarra Beach in New South Wales (pictured)

A family found a blue-ringed octopus during an afternoon swim at Yarra Beach in New South Wales (pictured)

Local Randwick family find a small blue-ring octopus (pictured) scuttling across their beach towel on Monday afternoon

Local Randwick family find a small blue-ring octopus (pictured) scuttling across their beach towel on Monday afternoon 

Blue-ringed octopus bites are highly venomous to humans and emergency services should be called immediately (pictured: stock photo of a blue-ringed octopus)

Blue-ringed octopus bites are highly venomous to humans and emergency services should be called immediately (pictured: stock photo of a blue-ringed octopus) 

 'I found a blue-ringed octopus last week. Stay vigilant everyone', one said. 

'Thanks for the heads up and good reminder', another added. 

Other residents recommended to avoid picking up shells when venturing to local beaches. 

'It’s scary and probably not a very good idea to be picking up shells in the water', one said. 

Blue-ringed octopus bites

  • The blue-ringed octopus bite is highly venomous to humans and emergency services should be called immediately if it occurs 
  • Blue-ringed octopuses are not aggressive animals and most cases of bites are from a person picking up and handling the creature, or stepping on it
  • It injects its toxin by biting - the venom is held in salivary glands and the mouth of the octopus in on the underneath side in the middle of the body
  • Most bites cause minimal pain for the first 5-10 minutes then begin to throb and may get numb
  • The bite could cause excessive bleeding, nausea, vomiting, changes in vision and difficulty swallowing
  • After 10 minutes, the victim may have difficulty breathing, become paralysed, and require artificial ventilation until they can be transported to a hospital 
  • The duration of life-threatening symptoms is usually 4 to 10 hours - after that time, surviving patients typically show rapid signs of improvement 
  • There is no anti-venom available for blue-ringed octopus bites 
  • In extreme cases, blue-ringed octopus bites can cause death from respiratory failure or cardiac arrest 
  • Despite its high toxicity there have been just three recorded deaths in the last century - two in Australia and one in Singapore

Source: emedicinehealth

New South Wales

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