Paramedics have rushed to a Sydney beach where a woman was bitten multiple times by a deadly blue-ringed octopus.
The woman, in her 30s, was bitten on her stomach Thursday afternoon at about 2.45pm at Chinamans beach in Mosman.
“This woman was swimming and picked up a shell. It contained a small blue-ringed octopus which fell out and bit her twice on the stomach,” NSW Ambulance Inspector Christian Holmes said.
“The patient was experiencing some abdominal pain around the bite site so paramedics applied pressure and a cold compress before taking her to hospital to be monitored and treated for further symptoms.”
She was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition.
The octopi only show their blue rings when they feel threatened, it’s a warning sign that they may bite.
The creature was caught by authorities.
The woman was bitten at Chinamans Beach, close to Mosman and Balmoral Beach.
Blue-ringed octopuses are among the world’s most venomous marine animals, carrying enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes.
“A blue-ringed octopus bite is a rare call for us but they are extremely venomous,” Inspector Holmes said.
Due to their size, their bites are tiny and often painless, with their venom capable of causing respiratory arrest, heart failure, paralysis, blindness and eventually death from suffocation.
Though they are venomous, the octopuses are relatively docile, only showing their bright blue rings and becoming dangerous to humans when threatened.
Blue-ringed octopus are generally found in shallow water, tide pools and coral reefs. This creature was found in Sydney’s south.
Just over a week ago, one of the dangerous creatures was spotted lurking in the shallows on a beach in Sydney’s south.
The blue-ringed octopus was discovered in the calm waters of Gunnamatta Bay, south of Cronulla Beach, with the man who found it sending out a warning.
“Found at Gunnamatta Bay this morning in the shallows next to where kids were playing,” the man who found it said on social media.
“Be careful out there with the little ones!”
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