The waters of Nanoose Bay off Vancouver Island hold no shortage of surprises, but few divers expect to have their camera stolen by a Giant Pacific Octopus. It was there that Canadian underwater videographers John Roney and Chris Mullen found themselves watching one of the ocean’s most intelligent animals turn into an impromptu filmmaker.

The two were exploring the seafloor when they spotted a massive octopus, estimated at nearly three meters across from arm to arm. At first, the animal remained still under a ledge. But on the return swim toward shore, curiosity took over. The octopus stretched forward, wrapped its arms around Roney’s camera, and claimed it as its own. Roney released the gear, allowing the encounter to unfold without resistance, as he later described to CBC.

A Giant Pacific Octopus grabbed a diver’s camera off Vancouver Island.

The Octopus Becomes the Cameraman

The camera had been running when the animal pulled it close. Video captured an otherworldly view from within the octopus’s arms. Its pale pink underbelly filled the frame, while sucker-lined tentacles waved across the lens like curtains. At times, the octopus seemed to reposition the device, pointing it toward rocks and the seafloor, and even managed to switch it off after a few minutes, according to CBC.

Roney later joked that the footage was better than his own, praising the clarity of the perspective. The divers retrieved the camera after several minutes, but the interaction did not end there. The octopus drifted toward Mullen, gently wrapping its arms around him in what witnesses described as a “hug,” reported the Miami Herald.

A Rare Glimpse of Cephalopod Curiosity

This was more than just play. Giant Pacific Octopuses are renowned for their intelligence, each displaying unique personalities. They use their suckers to taste and feel, investigating anything that seems unusual. In this case, the gleaming lights and unfamiliar equipment were too tempting to ignore. As marine zoologist Anna Hall explained to Chek News, such behavior reflects the animal’s natural instinct to examine objects in its environment.

The divers’ footage shows the octopus pressing its arms across the device, every motion doubling as both tactile exploration and inadvertent cinematography. Roney later remarked that the video offered “the best footage of inside an octopus’s web” he had ever seen.

Why the Moment Resonates

While marine biologist Jennifer Mather cautioned against calling the event a true “selfie,” she told CBC that octopuses do engage in object play. To them, a camera might appear as potential food or simply an intriguing toy. Either way, the footage delivered a perspective rarely seen outside documentaries.