A “magnificent creature” was left stranded on an Oregon shoreline until rescuers helped it home, a video shows.
A beachgoer first spotted the massive sea creature on June 7 at Cannon Beach, a popular shoreline with iconic rock formations, and they called for help.
Rescuers with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program got to the beach and saw a giant Pacific octopus in the sand between Haystack Rock and The Needles rock formations, the group said in a Facebook post.
“This is the largest one I’ve ever seen,” one person is heard saying in a video shared on Experience Cannon Beach’s Facebook page.
The tide had carried the octopus to the tide pools, then receded, leaving it trapped on the beach.
The rescuers were surprised to see the octopus and began taking photos of it as a crowd formed around them, the video shows. They estimated it was about 5 feet in length.
“Seeing a giant Pacific octopus alive is a pretty rare encounter, so it’s safe to say our staff was pretty excited,” the group said in another post.
One rescuer gently pushed the octopus toward the water with their hands until the tide carried it to deeper water. The octopus didn’t show any signs of injury, the group said.
“Well that’s not something you see every day,” one person is heard saying in the video.
“What a magnificent creature!!!! Absolutely breath taking,” someone commented on the group’s Facebook post.
Anyone who finds a stranded or injured marine animal should contact their local wildlife authority.
Giant Pacific octopuses can have an arm span measuring from 7 feet to more than 13 feet, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They live about three to five years.
They usually live among reefs and man-made coastal structures that are dim, dark and have deep crevices to hide in, the aquarium said.
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