Seals rip apart octopus for a snack near Vancouver seawall
Onlookers recently captured incredible footage of seals feasting on a large octopus in Vancouver water.
The sounds of thrashing in the water near the Vancouver Seawall and under the Lions Gate Bridge ended up being a battle between flippers and tentacles.
Daily Hive captured footage of two instances a week apart, and in both showdowns, the seals came out on top.
Footage from a week ago shows a pair of seals ripping an octopus apart to share.
In the most recent match this weekend, one successful and lonely seal was seen munching down on an octopus by itself.
Danny Kent, an expert at the Vancouver Aquarium, told Daily Hive that it is normal for seals and sea lions to predate on octopus in local waters, “but it is rare to actually witness it and get a chance to film the interaction.”
While seeing seals around Vancouver is not news to many, octopus might be.
Kent goes on to explain that a couple of species of octopus are the most encountered on our coast, including the Pacific Red Octopus and the Giant Pacific Octopus (often referred to as GPOs).
“Red octopus only reach a maximum size of about 0.4 kg or about 1 lb, so the one in the video was most likely a GPO,” he said. “GPOs can reach a maximum size of about 45-72 kg or about 100-150 lb and can have an arm tip to arm tip spread of at least 15-20’ for specimens weighing over 100 lb. Even though the maximum size range for GPO is impressive, specimens approaching that size are probably pretty rare, at least locally.”
The expert added that octopuses are usually shy and “masters at camouflage,” so they are often found holed up in their dens, where they are protected from predators like seals.
However, to feed, they will need to leave their dens, and this is usually when a seal spots one and takes advantage of its vulnerable state, Kent explained.