A WOMAN has been left ruing her decision to pose for an “unusual” photograph with a poisonous octopus attached to her face.
As Kiro 7 reports, Jamie Bisceglia learned the hard way that, when it comes to venomous or potentially harmful sea life, it’s best to avoid close contact.
It all started during a fishing derby in Tacoma Narrows in the US last Friday, August 2.
Spotting some fisherman who had just caught an octopus, Jamie saw an opportunity to pose for an amusing picture to share with friends and family.
This wasn’t just for another snap in the album though – there was money at stake. Or pride. Or both. It’s unclear.
What is clear is that Jamie saw an opportunity to put an octopus on her face and she grabbed it with both hands. Literally.
"It was a photo contest in the derby. So, crazy me, hindsight now and looking back, I probably made a big mistake," she told Kiro 7.
Jamie realised she had "probably" made big mistake almost immediately when the octopus grabbed her with its suckers and proceeded to repeatedly bite her on the chin with its rather large beak.
A “really intense pain” followed along with blood. Lots of blood.
What Jamie didn’t realise at the time, either, was that the octopus was a smaller juvenile version of a giant Pacific octopus and that its bite contained a venomous poison designed to immobilise its prey.
She soon realised though, with the bite leaving her in an incredible pain for the next two days of fishing.
Jamie eventually relented and went to hospital where she was administered three different antibiotics and warned that the swelling could come and go for weeks if not months.
She’s learned an important lesson about dealing with a live octopus though: don't pick them up. Leave them alone.
"This was not a good idea," said told Kiro 7. "I will never do it again."
Just remember kids: don’t go picking up potentially venomous animals to pose for amusing photographs.
In fact, don’t pick up any animals for comedy photos, full stop.
