Giant Octopus Named Larry Mugs Diver for his Camera

A giant Pacific octopus named Larry wrapped his enormous tentacles around a photographer’s camera in a remarkable video filmed off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.

The large mollusk set upon Michael Marcotte and his diving partner Stuart Seldon as they were setting up to capture photos of it.

“As he [Seldon] hovered motionless in front of this incredible creature he began to set up his camera to take a shot, hoping I would soon join him,” writes Marcotte on his Facebook page.

“As he began to take the photos the giant Pacific octopus jumped onto his camera and wrapped some of its tendrils around Stu’s neck, limbs, and torso.”

Seldon swam toward Marcotte to show the octopus, that the pair named Larry, entangled around him.

“As I looked up from the wall I saw my buddy in an upright stance with an amused if not stunned and confused look upon his countenance,” he says.

“At first I had no idea what I was looking at. A large amber plastic bag, perhaps an old set of bagpipes abandoned at sea, ‘Oh my god a giant Pacific octopus!'”

Larry’s Penchant for Cameras

Marcotte filmed Larry with his tentacles wrapped around the camera before the giant octopus lost interest and swam back toward the ocean wall.

However, the pair continued to film Larry and Marcotte says that the large marine cephalopod began “to take an interest in my GoPro” and made a few halfhearted attempts to grab the action camera.

“Upon surfacing I found out that Larry had lunged onto two other cameras held by two fellow divers,” adds Marcotte. “It was a memorable dive that will remain forever fixed in my brain.”

Marotte and Seldon are regular divers with Seldon recently taking the above photo of another giant Pacific octopus wrapping itself around a fellow diver.

Marcotte is the owner of the Canadian fishing and private tours company, WetRock. He regularly documents his deep sea dives and shares his latest findings on social media.