Published Date:
18 January 2006
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.
-
Last Updated:
29 March 2007 12:40 PM
-
Source:
n/a
-
Location:
Portsmouth
