Terrifying moment a giant octopus named Larry almost strangles a diver 40-feet underwater

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By James

Terrifying moment a giant octopus named Larry strangles a diver nearly 40 feet underwater after wrapping its tentacles around its neck to see its camera

  • Divers Michael Marcotte and Stuart Seldon were looking for an octopus in Canadian waters in October when they came across an orange eight-legged creature
  • The octopus, named Larry, had wrapped its body around Stuart’s neck and torso before making its way to the diver’s camera equipment.

By Vanessa Serna For Dailymail.Com

published: | Updated:

Footage showed the moment a territorial octopus nearly strangled a professional diver 40 feet below.

Divers Michael Marcotte and Stuart Seldon, who are familiar with Canadian waters and what lives below, knew what they were getting into when they went underwater to get a closer look at the marine life.

The two went underwater with the mission to find an octopus in British Columbia waters when they came across the huge orange-colored creature they named Larry the Giant Pacific Octopus (GPO).

The divers brought their waterproof camera gear and filmed the moment they found the eight-legged creature.

Footage showed the octopus swimming close to Seldon, also known as Stu, before slowly wrapping its tendrils around his camera gear and body.

Footage showed the moment a territorial octopus nearly strangled a professional diver 40 feet below. In the photo: the eight-legged creature and the diver

The octopus approved diver Stuart Seldon and clung to his torso and neck

The octopus approved diver Stuart Seldon and clung to his torso and neck

‘If [Stu] began taking the pictures the GPO jumped on his camera and wrapped some of his tendrils around Stu’s neck, limbs and torso,” Marcotte wrote on Facebook.

Marcotte described Stu’s eagerness to show him the octopus as he swam fast with the creature clinging to him.

“Looking up from the wall, I saw my friend standing straight with an amused, if not bewildered and confused expression on his face. At first I had no idea what I was looking at,” Marcotte wrote.

“A big amber plastic bag, maybe an old set of bagpipes left at sea, ‘Oh my god a GPO!”‘

Marcotte remembered how he quickly grabbed his GoPro and walked over with the octopus wrapping itself around Stu.

But within seconds the octopus got bored and charged towards Marcotte.

“As I was filming the majestic movement of this beautiful beast, he started to take an interest in my GoPro, he almost tried to snatch it from my hands, but maybe he had enough camera candy for now,” Marcotte wrote.

The footage only captured the last few moments of the octopus surrounding Stu.

Diver Stuart Seldon

Diver Michael Marcotte

Divers Michael Marcotte and Stuart Seldon, who are familiar with Canadian waters and what lives below, knew what they were getting into when they went underwater in October to get a closer look at marine life

The octopus got bored seconds later and swam away. It was later seen hanging from another diver's camera gear

The octopus got bored seconds later and swam away. It was later seen hanging from another diver’s camera gear

I was recently interviewed about this video. Here was my response. WHEN AND WHERE WAS THE VIDEO TAKEN? This video was taken on the brown wall northeast of Port Hardy in the lower Queen Charlotte Straights in early October 2022. British Columbia, Canada. CAN YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE VIDEO? While diving on the Browning Wall, my buddy Stuart Seldon and I became separated by the fast-flowing tides on the descent. As I descended to about 40′ I began looking for octopuses in the crevices and crevices along the wall teaming with anemones, soft corals, crustaceans and countless examples of unique marine life. Not far from me, maybe fifty yards away, Stu was at a similar depth with his camera. When he descended, he saw a GPO (giant pacific octopus) on the wall. Hovering motionless in front of this incredible creature, he began setting his camera to snap a picture, hoping I would join him soon. As he began taking the photos, the GPO jumped on his camera and wrapped some of his tendrils around Stu’s neck, limbs, and torso. In a weak way, my buddy Stu decided to swim as best he could to show me the GPO I would call Larry. Looking up from the wall, I saw my friend standing straight up with an amused if not bewildered and confused expression on his face. At first I had no idea what I was looking at. A big amber plastic bag, maybe an old set of sea squirts left at sea, “Oh my god a GPO!” I remembered that my GoPro had been cut off on one of my D-rings, so I started filming this abstract face in front of me. Soon after, Larry, the GPO, lost interest and swam back to the wall and started looking for another bass. As I was filming the majestic movement of this magnificent beast, he started to take an interest in my GoPro, almost trying to snatch it from my hands, but maybe he’d had enough camera candy for now. After a short photo shoot with Larry and I by Stu, I started seeing bubbles from different depths, so I swam off to let my fellow divers know about this beautiful wild creature above. While I was swimming, Stu kept documenting Larry, the eight-limbed mollusk. After informing everyone, I returned to a cluster of cameras and swam on to find new creatures and crustaceans along the wall in a diminishing current. When I surfaced, I discovered that Larrya had jumped onto two other cameras held by two fellow divers. It was a memorable dive that will remain etched in my mind forever. WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS VIDEO? See above CREDIT FOR THE PICTURES? Michael Marcotte videographer Stu Seldon Model Larry GPO Model ADD ANYTHING MORE? We stayed at the Hideaway, a floating dive resort with low expectations. This is why we dive!

Posted by Michael Marcotte on Thursday, March 2, 2023

Marcotte is the owner of Canadian fishing and private tour company WetRock. He has extensive diving experience

Marcotte is the owner of Canadian fishing and private tour company WetRock. He has extensive diving experience

The ‘memorable dive’ that took place in October will forever be with Marcotte as he continues his journey.

Marcotte is the owner of Canadian fishing and private tour company WetRock.

He regularly documents his scuba diving and shares his latest findings on social media.

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