Octo-oops: Briton's beach bliss in the Philippines turns into brush with deadliest octopus

Manila: A plucky British adventurer named Decanterman turned a sunny Philippine beach day into his personal "I-almost-became-octopus-sushi" sequel.

The unwitting hero, vacationing solo 11,000 km from pea-souper UK, scooped up what he thought was a "cute baby octopus" from tropical shallows, courtesy of some local beach urchins.

"There, in my hands is a baby octopus," he says in the video.

Spoiler: It was a blue-ringed octopus, the pint-sized assassin of the sea.

One nibble, and you're paralysed faster than a bad karaoke night.

Decanterman (real name: Andy McConnell), ever the Instagram influencer-in-waiting, filmed the frolic and posted: "At the beach today … A baby octopus captured by a gang of local beach kids."

Likes poured in like tropical rain — until the comments section erupted in panic.

"Mate, that's a blue-ringer! Run!" screamed an Aussie user, for whom spotting these iridescent killers is as routine as spotting kangaroos.

These small (5–8 inches), docile-looking cephalopods inhabit Pacific/Indian Ocean tide pools and reefs from Japan to Australia.

What are the blue rings for?

Well, flash when threatened, but they rarely attack unprovoked — most human fatalities occur from handling curious specimens.​

Turns out, this eight-legged molluscs can block nerve signals with tetrodotoxin (TTX), the same toxin that makes pufferfish a daredevil delicacy.

TTX is a potent "neurotoxin" in its saliva — 1,000 times deadlier than cyanide and produced by symbiotic bacteria.

A single bite (often painless and tiny) delivers enough venom to kill 26 adults within minutes, causing paralysis, respiratory failure, and death.

No antivenom exists, according to Octonation.​

Brush with death? More like a high-five with doom.

Reflecting in a follow-up post, Decanterman quipped: "Exploring the world alone inevitably involves risks... But nothing as extreme as my apparent brush with death yesterday, which was both inadvertent & to which I was entirely oblivious until I posted about it."

The Instagram video, now viral with over 3 million views (and 1 million views on X), shows his hand gently cradling the glowing menace amid seaweed — rings pulsing like neon warning signs ignored by the colorblind.

Experts at the National Library of Medicine confirm: This cephalopod could drop an adult human in minutes.

Luckily, Decanterman walked away unscathed, probably because the octopus was in "chill mode" or just having an off day.

Fellow travellers are buzzing: Buy a lotto ticket, they say, or stick to sandcastles next time.

And Decanterman?

He's had to endure not-so-nice comments on the post, alongside downright funny ones, but he's already plotting his next adventure, wisely vowing to Google before groping.

Stay safe, explorers — and remember, if it glows, let it go.