Octopus Chases Crab Ends Unexpectedly

Occurred on February 10, 2017 / Monterey, California, USA

(Spoiler Alert!) "I'm a SCUBA diver and underwater photographer/ cinematographer based in Monterey, California. The conditions here are usually pretty touch and go in terms of clarity, but last week, we had an exceptional few days of 50 feet or more of visibility, paired with the arrival of countless fascinating gelatinous species.

"I was on my third dive of the day, and Patrick and I decided to go for an evening dive to one of our favorite spots along Cannery Row, called the Breakwater/ Metridium Fields. While diving, we were surprised by our friend, "Whiskers", the harbor seal, who often shows up when we dive at night. Whiskers has learned to use our dive lights to help hunt fish, and having Whiskers show up is not an uncommon occurrence.

"After a while, Whiskers was gone and my eye caught some action going on to the left, and I realized that a red octopus was chasing a swimmer crab around the sand. I immediately split off to go investigate and film, and Patrick followed. It was a great battle until Whiskers showed back up".