"Giant Pacific octopuses can only survive out of water for a few minutes at most," said Anne England of the Padilla Bay Sanctuary.
Anne England received a call from a ranger in Mount Vernon about the stranded octopus. "I did not anticipate finding such a giant octopus alive and well to find an octopus of this size, alive and healthy," she said, adding that the Pacific octopus survived with the right help. A 10-year-old girl visiting the beach with her family was among the rescuers.
While visiting Bay View State Park in Mount Vernon, a family witnessed a giant Pacific octopus stranded on the beach. As the tide was going out, the chances of the octopus making its way back to the water were slim.
Before rescuers arrived, the young girl mentioned by Annie England in a video provided by NBC recounted how they poured buckets of water over the stranded octopus. The video captures the young girl's experience of the rescue effort.
Moving a giant octopus requires lifeguards to be extremely cautious about their hand placement. Luckily, they were able to safely transport the octopus back to the sea using barrels.
"I am so relieved that the rescue mission to save the giant octopus was a success. Hopefully, it won't go through something like this again," said Anne England, adding that it was the first octopus rescue her team had ever done."
Watching the video below:
