Recently (in 2019), at the end of a dive at the Air Wall diving site (west of Gili Air Island, at 15 minutes from the dive center by boat), the group of 3 divers had a rare encounter with a beautiful blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena).
We were ascended slowly from our deep dive to the shallow area and stayed at the slope on top of the wall at around 7-8 meters deep (the bottom of the drop-off is around 30 meters deep).
Suddenly, I spotted something moving between the corals. I was exhilarated when I found out that it was the rare and venomous Blue Ringed Octopus (or BRO in short).
Usually, these animals are very difficult, almost impossible, to see if they are not moving. Their camouflage is excellent when they are motionless, making them almost invisible.
The video shows their amazing camouflage skills by changing their colours and textures instantly !
The Blue ringed octopus is a small octopus, less than 20 cm. 2 interesting facts to know, the second one is very important:
- the brightness of the blue rings depends on its responds to the environment.
- Its venom is very dangerous, a bite could be fatal even for humans (one of the reasons for the rule of not touching anything underwater, where there seems to be nothing there may be a dangerous animal invisible because of its camouflage).
There were no other divers and we enjoyed our private moment with it. After more than 10 minutes, we left and proceed to our safety stop reluctantly.
Sometimes, it’s possible to come across this magnificent marine animal in the Gili Islands of Indonesia and elsewhere. Each time, it’s always a pleasure to dive with it (but don’t try to touch), a little too rare.
