NEED TO KNOW
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A six-year-old boy is covered in bruises after an octopus grabbed his arm and wouldn’t let go
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The incident took place at the San Antonio Aquarium in Texas on July 14
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The child’s mother has spoken out about the situation on TikTok
A 6-year-old boy was injured after an octopus grabbed his arm and wouldn’t let go.
Britney Taryn, the child’s mom, spoke about the situation that took place during a July 14 visit to the San Antonio Aquarium in a TikTok video.
According to Taryn, the giant Pacific octopus attached itself to her son Leo’s arm while he was at a touch tank.
She added that she and her child had visited the aquarium before, and even met the same sea creature in the past.
The San Antonio Aquarium did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, nor did Taryn.
In the social media video shared by Taryn, her son’s arm can be seen covered in small, dark purple suction bruises, going from his wrist to his armpit.
“My son is very level-headed when it comes to animals, so when he had his arm in there, and he starts saying, ‘Mom, it’s not letting me go — and way too calmly — ‘I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ So I’m helping him get down from the step and trying to pull him away from the octopus, and that octopus is not letting go,” she said.
Taryn continued, “The octopus starts coming out of the tank, and the reason we don’t have pictures or videos of this is because my friend was also freaking out.”
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Following the incident, the San Antonio Aquarium posted a video on TikTok on July 26, highlighting the bruises the specific octopus can leave behind — and how they can last between seven to 14 days.
“So there’s around 200 suction cups per arm. And as they grow … they will actually shed their suction cup,” an aquarium employee said in the clip.
The aquarium added that the giant Pacific octopus can lift up to 700 pounds.
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In a follow-up video, Taryn said she is working to campaign for safer and more comfortable living conditions for this animal, as well as others in similar situations.
The mother added that she reached out to the San Antonio Aquarium and asked them to formally document the incident, and to provide an accessible explanation of the aquarium’s safety protocols for when visitors interact with animals.
Taryn, claimed in the video, however, that she had not heard back from the Texas-based establishment.
Read the original article on People
