*Fisherman Jesser Cervantes thought he’d caught an octopus. The octopus apparently reviewed the arrangement and decided Cervantes looked more catchable.
The wild encounter happened last month (07/26) near Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Philippines, where Cervantes was fishing from a small wooden boat. As seen in video of the incident, the octopus latched onto his face and head, using its powerful suckers to hang on while Cervantes desperately tried to peel it away. And this little sea sucker was not interested in negotiating.
Eight Arms, Zero Interest in Letting Go
The octopus spread its arms across Cervantes’ head and face, at one point covering his mouth as he struggled to break its grip, the New York Post reported.
Cervantes initially tried pulling the animal off with his hands. No dice. When the suckers kept sucking, he grabbed a piece of bamboo and repeatedly struck the octopus in an effort to convince his unwanted facial accessory that their relationship was over.
Eventually, it worked.
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“The octopus I caught was very hard to handle. It almost ripped my face,” Cervantes said.
Philippine outlet GMA News later reported that Cervantes and another Palawan fisherman had experienced similar encounters while catching octopuses. Cervantes said the animals can become increasingly difficult to remove as their suckers tighten against the skin.
In other words, those eight arms aren’t just for show.
The Octopus Lived to Suck Another Day
After finally freeing himself, Cervantes returned the octopus to the water and caught his breath.
That was a surprisingly gracious ending considering the animal had just attempted to turn his face into beachfront property.
Cervantes also pushed back against online speculation that encounters like his were staged for social-media content. He acknowledged making videos about octopus fishing but told GMA News the incidents weren’t scripted. “It wasn’t intentional. It just latched onto me on its own,” another fisherman featured in the report explained about his own encounter.
GMA noted that an octopus’ eight arms are lined with hundreds of suckers, while much of its nervous system is distributed through those arms — helping explain why removing one that’s committed to holding on can become a serious project.
Cervantes walked away without reported serious injuries, and the octopus went back where it belonged.
Call it a draw.
But somewhere beneath the waters of Palawan, there’s an octopus with one heck of a fisherman’s tale.
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