A passionate SCUBA diver named Andrea Humphreys was on a dive with friends in kelp forests off the coast of British Columbia when she got closer to an octopus than she ever thought she would. Ironically, Humphreys and her pals were wanting to see a giant Pacific octopus that day, but what she got rather of an easy sighting was a hug– a complete face hug.
With 8 arms lined with numerous powerful suckers, giant Pacific octopuses are the biggest octopuses in the world. They’re often about 16 feet long, however they can be even larger. When one of these animals came directly for Humphreys on her eventful dive in October 2022, she welcomed the moment (quite literally).
In the video, you see a giant Pacific octopus swimming gradually and oddly towards Humphreys’ cam, which she’s holding out in front of her. Humphreys retreats as the octopus comes toward her, keeping a range between them, till the octopus closes that range, opening its arms wide and going straight in for a hug of legendary percentages.
Next, all you see is octopus as Humphreys discharges little squeaks of pleasure. She told The Guardian: “It was just crawling on my video camera, crawling on my lips, offering me a hug.”
The octopus’s suckered arms were locked on her face mask, too. “Each time I pulled back from it, the octopus simply kept coming towards me,” she said. “And it was so amazing and inspiring.”
View a huge Pacific octopus “hug” a scuba diver here:
Why Octopuses ‘Hug’Octopuses use their arms and suckers to check out the world around them. They can even “taste” with their suckers. In truth, while this might appear like a hug, it’s simply a curious octopus wishing to understand its environment (and everything/everyone in it) much better.
What would you have done if this taken place to you? Would you panic, or would you be able to take pleasure in the moment?
A SCUBA scuba diver got more than she bargained for when she spotted a huge Pacific octopus and it provided her a complete face hug. Watch it here.