A snorkeler who spent an hour gathering underwater rubbish in Perth was shocked to find a deadly blue-ringed octopus had slipped into his gear.
Mat Rogerson shared a series of photos of the octopus after discovering it clinging to his goggles last weekend.
‘I didn’t feel a bite, but now read the bite is painless,’ he wrote online.
Mr Rogerson said he’d carefully taken the octopus back to North Beach but was puzzled how it’d stayed hidden.
‘Either came out of the black snorkel or blue rubber dog ball with a hole in it, as other junk had no hiding places,’ he said.
‘I’ll be far more careful what I tuck into my wetsuit in future.’
Perth snorkeller Mat Rogerson was collecting rubbish off North Beach but returned home to find a blue-ringed octopus in his gear
Mr Rogerson shared a series of photos of the octopus after discovering it clinging to his goggles
The blue-ringed octopus is considered one of Australia’s deadliest creatures, with a potent venom, called tetrodotoxin, that can kill in minutes.
They are often found in tide pools and coral reefs.
Aussies were shocked by Mr Rogerson’s luck and joked it was the universe repaying him for helping keep the ocean clean.
‘Karma. You did good. Little bluey have you a pass,’ one said.
‘Well done. You managed to clean up the ocean, help out an octopus and not die all in an hour or two!,’ another said.
‘I’d rather get bitten by a shark than that thing,’ another added.
‘Good karma. Thank you for your efforts to clean up our oceans, and for releasing the little fella,’ a fourth person said.
Mr Rogerson returned the octopus to the beach and said he’d ‘be far more careful what I tuck into [his] wetsuit in future’