This week in Lembongan… Some of our guests decided to finish their stay with a night dive in Lembongan Bay and had the chance to see a blue-ringed octopus! Mijin, from South Korea, who was doing her Advanced Open Water Course with Gwen, changed all her plan when she heard about the chance to do a night dive and also convinced Elise (Dive Master in training) to come for her first night dive.
Doing a night dives can sound a little bit weird or scary for the first time, but it’s the only time that you can switch off your torch and dance like crazy, trying to see if there is any luminescent plankton around!! After few minutes of complete madness and laughing we headed back to the boat, when we spotted a blue-ringed octopus in the middle of the sand!
This small octopus has blue and black rings on a yellowish skin. It starts its life as the size of a pea and when fully grown, it reaches the size of a golf ball. It’s actually one of the most venomous marine organisms in the world and as small as it is, it contains enough toxins to kill around 26 humans in minutes…
The bite of the blue-ringed octopus may be painless but it’s definitely deadly. Upon being bitten, the victim’s nerve conduction is stopped and paralysis sets in after a few minutes. We don’t know any antidote but providing artificial respiration could remove the toxin and save the life of the victim. This toxin is 10,000 times more toxic than Cyanide and is produced by bacteria in the salivary glands.
The blue-ringed octopus is a good example of why you shouldn’t touch anything underwater, as marine creatures can have defensive reaction which can lead to infection, paralysis or death.
