The recent passing of hurricane Ophelia over Ireland and parts of Scotland are being blamed for dozens of octopus emerging from the ocean and crawling on the beaches of the Welsh coast.
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Witnesses to the phenomenon describe it as a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. Mr Brett Jones, who runs a dolphin watching boat trip company nearby, spotted them when he was returning with his boat. He quickly docked and then filmed the phenomenon.
“It was a bit like an End Of Days scenario. There were probably about 20 or 25 on the beach. I have never seen them out of the water like that.”
“Maybe they are getting confused by the bright lights in New Quay harbour and maybe they are dying off after summer or getting knackered after the recent storms.”
The curator at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, Mr James Wright claims the passing of hurricane Ophelia might have displaced them. But the number witnessed in Ceredigion was “quite odd and suggests there is something wrong with them”.
“As the areas where they are exhibiting this odd behaviour coincides with the two areas hit by the two recent low pressure depressions and associated storms of Ophelia and Brian, it could be supposed that these have affected them. It could simply be injuries sustained by the rough weather itself or there could be a sensitivity to a change in atmospheric pressure.”
Meanwhile Mr Jones is thinking of going back the next few evenings to see if he can spot some more, hoping for a new sideshow for his dolphin watching boat. He said: “Perhaps it’s because the sea has been quite rough recently but I’ve never seen anything like it before. They were walking on the tips of their legs. A friend of mine said it happened the night before and there was about 20 last night.”
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That is not the sound you would expect.