Oh Sh!t! Octopus Tries To Steal A Divers Camera

The first rule of David Malvestuto and Warren Murray's scuba diving group is if you don't get it on tape it didn't happen.
So when Murray got into a tussle with an eight-armed opponent over his camera, he knew he wouldn't let it go. Or else no one would believe him.

The two experienced divers captured a rare find while scuba diving off Bluefish Cove in Carmel, Calif., on Feb.1. Murray, 56, a professional scuba and underwater photography instructor, got very close to an 8-foot-long giant Pacific octopus.At first the Redwood City, Calif., resident thought the animal, which camouflages itself well, was a large rock, but saw a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye and moved towards it. The octopus suddenly sprouted up and wrapped his tentacles around Murray's camera, as well as parts of his arm and hands.

"I wasn't too worried. Generally they are not too interested in people. They'll just take off," he told the Daily News. "I was thinking he would take off as soon as I got close to it. When he wasn't moving, I was excited."
Murray and Malvestuto are part of the scuba diving community in the area and the divers always tell crazy stories. But unless it's captured on film nobody believes them, he said.
That's why when the octopus got close Murray kept shooting.

"I was thinking (about that rule) in the back of my mind," he said. "I wanted to capture as many pictures as I could."
The animal had a pretty good hold on the camera and Murray said his biggest concern was the octopus may be able to break the fingers on his hand. But when Murray took pictures and the flash went off, the animal swam away.
Murray said he thinks the octopus initially saw his reflection in his lens and thought there was another octopus.
Smaller octopuses are common in the area, but not the large GPO who are usually seen more north and in deeper waters, he said.

Malvestuto, 34, told The News he followed Murray towards the animal, but he also couldn't tell what it was until they got close.
But he also said he wasn't afraid because octopuses — though curious animals — do not attack unless they feel threatened.

"I was a little concerned … but we both knew they are harmless," he said. "He was very cool and collected. I wanted to make sure nothing bad would happen."
The San Jose resident said they both didn't realize the magnitude of what had happened until they got home and saw the video, which has impressed many of their fellow divers.
"We can say we did all of these things but we made sure we had the video and pictures to prove it," he said.

That octopus was like wtf is the paparazzi doing down here? Get'em…

SOURCE