A British man’s beach holiday in the Philippines turned into a frightening close call, without him realising it at the time.
While spending time on a beach in Santa Fe, Cebu Island, Andy McConnell filmed himself holding a tiny octopus. It seemed like a harmless moment- a curious tourist gently playing with what looked like a small sea creature. But the danger was far bigger than it appeared.
McConnell, a British television personality known as the glass expert on Antiques Roadshow, later shared the video on Instagram. He captioned it, “At the beach today … A baby octopus captured by a gang of local beach kids."
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Soon after the video went online, viewers showed concern. Many identified the animal as a blue-ringed octopus, one of the most venomous creatures in the ocean. According to the National Library of Medicine, its venom is around 1,000 times deadlier than cyanide and can block nerve signals, leading to paralysis.
Comments section quickie filled with concerns
One user wrote, “Watching completely oblivious people hold ridiculously dangerous creatures without a care in the world is literally my favourite part of Instagram."
Another user cautioned, “If I am not mistaken, this is one of the most poisonous creatures that lives in water."
One comment stood out for its chilling message: “I don’t think you quite understand how dangerous that animal you just held is. If you were to get bitten within five minutes, you would have been dead. That’s how venomous it is."
Aftermath of the adventure
Only after reading these reactions did McConnell understand how serious the situation had been. In a follow-up post, he reflected on the experience, writing, “My close encounter with death. Exploring the world alone, 11,000km from home, inevitably involves taking 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."
He added, "In brief, I was out on my morning beach walk yesterday when I spotted a group of animated kids. They explained that they had caught a ‘baby octopus’ that they were passing it between themselves & releasing it into a rock pool. I filmed myself copying their actions before returning it to its finder, who then placed it into its temporary home, a sea urchin shell."
He shared, "I posted about it last night but remained oblivious to the peril I had encountered. That is until today when I noticed the attention it was generating on Instagram. It has just passed 500,000 views! Turns out that it was a blue-ringed octopus, instantly recognisable to Aussies & others as the world’s first / second / third most venomous animal! If you don’t believe me, read some of the comments it’s generated. Most have been polite, others revolting & snotty."
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He concluded, sharing, "My only previous experience of anything even vaguely similar occurred last year when I was speared by a catfish on the same beach, after which I developed my very own fish finger!”
McConnell was fortunate to escape unharmed. The incident serves as a reminder that nature can be dangerous — even when it looks harmless.
