Watch as giant octopus attacks robot
THIS is the dramatic moment when a giant octopus attacked an underwater vehicle.
The machine, called a Seaeye Falcon ROV and made by Fareham-based Seaeye Marine, was working off Canada's Vancouver Island to locate and recover receivers used in tracking Pacific offshore salmon migration.
But as it went down to the seabed it was suddenly attacked by a Giant Pacific Octopus.
The incident was caught on the vehicle's video by Mike Wood, from SubOceanic Sciences Canada at a depth of 180ft.
Mr Wood feared the 80lb octopus would bite the camera cable or umbilical and trip out the Falcon ROV.
Operating the vehicle from onboard a ship, Mr Wood tightened his grip of the cable with the vehicle's manipulator arm and revved the ROV's thrusters in reverse in an attempt to blast seabed particles at the creature.
For a moment the octopus appeared to intensify its attack with its mantle flared but eventually the swirling fragments drove it away.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -4 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
