International media and scientific organisations are lapping up footage of a real life ‘Sharktopus’ filmed in the Hauraki Gulf.
Marine biologist Professor Rochelle Constantine said the encounter in December 2023 was a tale to top them all.
In a post on the University of Auckland website, she said at the time the research team she was part of was looking for workups, also known as feeding frenzies, when they spotted a short-fin mako shark.
When they saw it had an orange patch on its head, they launched a drone and put a GoPro in the water, capturing something unforgettable – an octopus perched atop the shark’s head, clinging on with its tentacles.
It was promptly christened ‘Sharktopus’ after a 2010 science fiction film which featured an intelligent shark that had the tentacles of an octopus.
“It was definitely working to keep itself very contained on top,” Constantine told Canada’s CBC Radio. “You could see a tentacle … stray out every now and then.”
The sight stunned the team because octopus live mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don’t favour the deep.
“We moved on after 10 minutes so I can’t tell you how what happened next. The octopus may have been in for quite the experience since the world’s fastest shark species can reach 50kph.”
CBC is among media outlets that have covered the story with the accompanying video – broadcasters and websites in Australia, the US and the UK have also featured it, including the New York Times, the Guardian, USA Today and CNN.
Coverage has labelled the encounter bizarre, incredibly rare, outrageous, and remarkable.
Prof Constantine told the New York Times it was possible the octopus would not have been able to hold on after a while. If it fell off, the shark might have eaten it or it may have returned to the seabed.
But for at least a few short minutes, they were swimming peacefully together. “The shark seemed quite happy, and the octopus seemed quite happy,” Constantine said. “It was a very calm scene.”
Commenters to the Gizmodo website also focused on the positive with one suggesting Pixar should use the incident as inspiration for another movie.
Another suggested: “It was their first date. He tried to get rid of her cause she was too clingy.”
Meanwhile, Prof Constantine said the encounter was a reminder of the wonders of the ocean. “One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea. By supporting conservation initiatives, we can help to ensure that such extraordinary moments keep happening.”
