Young boy lucky to be alive after picking up deadly item on beach
An eight-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after he unwittingly picked up a shell with a deadly sea creature hiding in it at an Adelaide beach.
Noah Soubrier was over the moon with his catch at Somerton Beach, and raced to show his mother Emma, who was less than thrilled with the surprise in her son's hand.
“It was still stuck together, I opened it and there was a blue ringed octopus inside,” Noah told 7 News.
“I thought it was shell slime.”
The young boy's close call has prompted a warning to beachgoers over a rare surge in numbers of deadly blue ring octopuses along Adelaide’s metropolitan coastline.
Luckily Noah wasn't hurt, because one bite could have been lethal, with the blue ringed octopus' venom able to kill an adult in just minutes.
His mum Emma said: “When I saw the blue dots I realised this is not good, I kind of freaked out.“
Seventeen of the deadly sea creatures have been spotted at Somerton Beach in recent weeks, another at Port Noarlunga, and one near the mouth of the Onkaparinga River.
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Surf lifesavers say it's the first time in years they've had this many sightings of the deadly creature and urged beachgoers to be vigilant especially parents with young children.
“The SA species is nocturnal, so it prefers to hide away under rocks and in crevices but it's moving about because of the warmer weather,” Life Saving SA's Sonya Williamson said.
No beaches have been closed, but authorities are closely monitoring the situation.
Noah has learnt a valuable lesson, telling 7 News “I like the beach, but except for the blue ringed octopus.”
