There are some things in life that are true once-in-a-lifetime experiences . Unfortunately, most of us won’t be able to experience them all. But when someone does, it usually means amazing pictures we all get to see.
And Jacinta Shackleton’s encounter with a rare octopus is no exception.
Shackleton, an Australian marine biologist and photographer, recently came across a rather rare species of octopus while snorkeling.
RELATED STORIES
The blanket octopus isn’t found very often.
Shackleton writes in the caption to her Instagram post: “Today I had such an incredible snorkel and came across a BLANKET OCTOPUS!”
“These animals are a rarely encountered pelagic octopus species that spend their whole lifecycle in the open ocean.”
“The first live male was only sighted in 2002!”
And that’s why finding one at all is a true once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
According to Shackleton, the octopus was female.
In her second post, she writes: “The colours in her cape were incredible and it was fascinating to watch the way she moved through the water. Surely a once-in-a-lifetime encounter for me, so grateful!”
How could she tell the difference between male and female?
Unilad writes that, while males grow to about an inch in length, females of the species can grow up to six feet!
So it’s pretty easy to tell the difference, I’d imagine.
In any case, the pictures are incredible.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t stop staring at the amazing colors in those photos. So glad that Shackleton was able to snap those incredible shots.
Shackleton posted a bunch of pictures of the beautiful creature to her Instagram.
I seriously can’t get enough of how amazing this octopus looks.
I think we can all benefit from Shackleton’s luck.
After all, it’s pretty unlikely that most (if any) of us will ever see this amazing creature in the wild.
But hey, that’s what the internet’s for.
Make sure to check out Jacinta Shackleton’s Instagram page for more amazing marine life photos.
h/t Unilad
