A hungry New Zealand fur seal ripped a giant octopus to shreds during this fight to the death

A New Zealand kayaking guide witnessed a 20-minute fight to the death between a seal and a huge octopus. Conner Stapley was leading a group of kayakers around Kaikoura’s South Bay when they came upon a fur seal taking a large bite out of the octopus.

He said afterward:

It is quite rare to see something like this, and rarer at this time of day; normally you would see New Zealand fur seals feeding in the evenings. I noticed a big flock of sea birds just congregating nearby – that is normally a sign there is something happening – and then the fight begun. It went on for about 20 minutes. It was definitely one of the biggest octopuses I have ever seen. The seal was shaking it like a Staffy [Staffordshire Bull Terrier] with its favourite chew toy – they have to rip the tentacles off before they eat them, otherwise they stick to their throat, and they have to throw it up and start again. They are literally dismembered.

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He went on to add that the octopus “had no chance really,” and that luckily, “no one got hit by any flying bits of octopus.” Stapely captured photos of the battle on his phone, and Kaikoura Kayaks shared them on their Facebook page.

Matt Foy, the owner of the company, said this isn’t the first seal vs. octopus fight they’ve witnessed. In fact, just a few months ago, a group of kayakers came across a similar scenario.

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