Woman Unknowingly Holds Extremely Dangerous Blue-Ringed Octopus in Bali

A woman on a trip to Bali unknowingly played with a very venomous blue-ring octopus.

Kaylin Farruggio is seen in the video holding the small but potentially deadly octopus as someone tosses water on it, and another offers it a clementine. Farruggio posted photos of the octopus to Instagram in 2018, and later posted a video to TikTok in 2021 that raked in 2.3 million likes.

In the Instagram caption, Farruggio wrote, “completely oblivious to the fact that we held the world’s most poisonous octopus…we are fine.”

The cephalopod can be seen displaying its bright blue rings, which they only do when they “feel threatened,” the Natural History Museum (NHM) says.

According to the NHM, the octopus can inject tetrodotoxin, or TTX, which, the CDC says, is an “extremely potent poison (toxin)” that “interferes with the transmission of signals from nerves to muscles and causes an increasing paralysis of the muscles of the body.” The toxin can be fatal. Credit: Kaylin Farruggio via Storyful

Video transcript

- Ask him if he wants fruit.

- Close enough.

- They're so shred.

- Drat.

- He doesn't like the fruit.

- Eat the fruit.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: It might be bad because it's citrus. You don't--

- I know.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Let me give him some water.

- That's why I gave it to him.

- Too close to your ear.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Yeah, I just wanted to see if he was saying anything. [LAUGHS]

- I'm going to skip the-- I'm going to skip the--

- Wait.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Wait, Melanie, get someone who works here.

- Ask him if he wants fruit.

- Close enough.

- They're so shred.

- Drat.

- He doesn't like the fruit.

- Eat the fruit.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: It might be bad because it's citrus, you don't--

- I know.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Let me give him some water.

- So I gave it to him.

- Too close to your ear.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Yeah, I just wanted to see if he was saying anything. [LAUGHS]

- I'm going to skip the-- I'm going to skip the--

- Wait.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Wait, Melanie. Get someone who works here.

- Ask him if he wants fruit.

- Close enough.

- They're so shred.

- Drat.

- He doesn't like the fruit.

[LAUGHTER]

- Eat the fish.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: It might be bad because it's citrus. You don't--

- I know.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Let me give him some water.

- So I gave it to him.

- Too close to your ear.

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Yeah, I just wanted to see if he was saying anything. [LAUGHS]

- I'm going to skip the-- I'm going to skip the--

KAYLIN FARRUGGIO: Wait, wait. Melanie, get someone who works here.