When Jamie Bisceglia met fishermen who’d hooked an octopus, she couldn’t help herself from stopping for a photo.
The Washington native was in the Tacoma Narrows on Aug. 2 for a fishing derby and saw the opportunity to get a daring picture for a contest.
“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.
After Bisceglia placed the octopus on her face, it initially grabbed hold with its suckers. But then it bit her.
READ MORE: ‘Seal’ed with a kiss: Dog shares sweet kiss with seal on banks of the Fraser River
“It had barrelled its beak into my chin and then let go a little bit and did it again,” she explained. “It was a really intense pain when it went inside and it just bled, dripping blood for a long time.”
What the owner of South Sound Salmon Sisters didn’t know is that the animal injected venom into her face after it bit her.
WATCH BELOW: Incredible moment a seal smacks a kayaker in the face with an octopus
Unaware of the damage it was causing, she continued fishing for two days before the unbearable pain sent her to the hospital.
“I’m still in pain,” she said. “I’m on three different antibiotics. This can come and go, the swelling, for months they say.”
READ MORE: ‘Cocoa’, Oshawa’s legwarmer-wearing pigeon, finds a new family
A spokeswoman at the Point Defiance Aquarium says it might’ve been a smaller version of a Pacific red octopus. They have powerful beaks in order to crack open crabs, clams and mussels. Their venom is used to paralyze their prey.
Luckily, Bisceglia wasn’t further hurt and she says the experience has taught her a very important lesson.
“This was not a good idea,” she said. “I will never do it again.”
—
meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca
Comments