A Texas mom is concerned after she says an octopus at the San Antonio Aquarium left bruises on her 6-year-old son’s arm.
According to the mother, Britney Taryn, the aquarium has always allowed guests to touch the octopus, dating back to November of 2024. Her son has visited the octopus, a Giant Pacific Octopus named Cthulhu, many times.
“They’re allowed to touch them, and it’s welcomed,” she said in a video she posted to TikTok about the incident, which has since gone viral. “He would sit there and touch and talk to the octopus until we cut him off.”
During the visit in question, Taryn and her son noticed the octopus had grown quite a bit since they last saw it, and its behavior had changed. While the octopus usually put its tentacles on her son and then released him, that’s not what happened on July 14.
“Mom, it’s not letting me go,” her son said that day.
As Taryn tried to help her son step away from the tank, the octopus still wouldn’t relent and even began coming out of the tank, she said.
“We start freaking out because that octopus is now bigger than my 6-year-old,” she said. “So if we have this octopus outside of the water, is it going to engulf him and swallow him whole? I don’t know.”
It took three employees with ice packs to get the octopus off her son, she said in the video. The ordeal left her son’s heart racing, and his arm was covered in purple tentacle marks.
Taryn said her son is OK.
“This was honestly the coolest experience to him,” she said. “He is so excited, but I don’t know. Should I be more concerned? Should I be worried?”
USA TODAY has reached out to the aquarium for comment.
Employee initially thought octopus was being ‘playful’
According to Taryn, there were no employees around initially. Then one walked up and witnessed what was happening.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, isn’t she playful today?’” Taryn recalled. “This octopus is halfway out the tank trying to eat my son, but yeah, playful, sure.”
The employee tried unsuccessfully to get the animal off the boy, then used his radio to call for ice packs. Two people came running in with ice packs, placing them on the animal, Taryn said.
“The octopus is suctioning and releasing the other employees, but it’s not letting go of my kid,” she said. “More and more tentacles start to envelop his arm.”
The three employees were then able to free her son from the octopus’ grip.
An octopus displaying its tentacles underwater. Pictured octopus is not the one mentioned in this story.
‘She recognized him’: Octupus can recognize humans they interact with
Taryn and her son left the aquarium and eventually went back because he wanted to check on the animal, she said. They had to wait for a crowd of people to clear the area, then once her son got closer to the octopus, she noticed a reaction that took her aback.
The octopus, which normally appeared reddish-brown, began to take on a color she’d never seen before.
“(The octopus) made eye contact with my son and immediately … started to change colors and come close to him,” she said, adding that the animal turned white.
She later went home and researched octopus behavior, and what read saw was alarming.
“Since this octopus is getting up there in years, I read that it can start becoming super erratic or clingy,” she said. “She recognized him … it seems like she has a heightened emotional response to him.”
She said she was worried about the animal’s emotional regulation, and also that another child may have a similar issue with the octopus. Although her son handled the situation calmly, other kids may not and they may hurt the animal, she said.
But researchers say the animals are curious and can remember things.
“They can also recognize people and actually like some more than others,” wrote team members at the Max Delbrück Center, a research center in Germany. “Researchers now believe that they even dream, since they change their color and skin structures while sleeping.”
Aquarium explains behavior of octupus
Nearly two weeks after the incident, the San Antonio Aquarium did not directly address the situation but did share an educational video of an employee working with Cthulhu the octopus.
According to the employee, Cthulhu’s suction is a strong, “amazing” tool she uses to crawl and pry things open. Calling the suction cups “bundles of nerves,” she said the suction cups can move independently and allow the animals to taste food and move heavy objects. Some octopuses have about 200 suction cups per arm.
A shot of a Giant Pacific Octopus in an aquarium. Pictured octopus is not the one mentioned in this story.
The employee added that the octopus is intelligent and gets excited during mealtime, noting how she tried to pry a shrimp out of the employee’s hand.
Throughout the video, viewers can see the octopus inching up the employee’s arm with her tentacles. As the animals try to get hold of food or other items, the suction cups create “hickeys” or “octopus kisses” that are normal for strong, curious animals, the employee said.
“Blood comes up to the surface of your skin,” the employee said. “She’s not trying to be harmful in any manner.”
How the bruises show depends on an octopus’ complexion, age and the thickness of its skin. They disappear within one to two weeks, the worker said.
In another video featuring the employee working with the octopus, she laughed as she tried to get the octopus off her arm. Viewers tagged Taryn in the clip.
“Now imagine that that is a 6-year-old,” Taryn said.
Outside of the initial video that went viral, Taryn is continuing to post about the experience on TikTok to bring awareness to others.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Octopus grabs boy’s arm at aquarium at San Antonio Aquarium, mom says
