Kaylin Phillips/TikTok
- A woman posted a video of herself unknowingly holding one of the most venomous animals in the world.
- The video received over eight million views and over one million likes.
- The blue-ringed octopus has "enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes."
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A woman posted a video on TikTok of herself holding an octopus that she claimed was "the most venomous octopus species in the world," without realizing how dangerous the animal was. Naturally, the video went viral.
Kaylin Phillips, whose TikTok page is @kaylinmarie21, posted the video on Monday, and it has received over eight million views, over one million likes, and over 17,000 comments as of Wednesday afternoon.
Phillips wrote in text across the video that she was in Bali and "unknowingly" held the animal. The video then shows a screenshot of a Google search for a "blue-ringed octopus," which confirmed the octopus, that could appear harmless to some, is a "highly venomous species." According to the video's caption, Phillips called her dad crying upon realizing she was holding a deathly creature.
In the comments section, she said that she "actually held two of them in the same day" and that she "tried to feed them oranges and played with them for about a solid 20 minutes."
There are four species of the blue-ringed octopus that live in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, according to Oceana, an organization that protects international oceans. Oceana's website states that the blue-ringed octopus is "one of the most venomous octopus species in the world" - and that there's currently "no known anti-venom to treat a person who has been bitten."
According to Healthline, the venom from the blue-ringed octopus is called tetrodotoxin, or TTX, and it can paralyze a human in minutes. The paralysis will deprive the body of oxygen and lead to death, according to Healthline.
CNET reported that the blue-ringed octopus is the third-most venomous animal in the world, right behind the Inland Tapian Snake and the box jellyfish taking the second and first spots, respectively.
In a subsequent video, the TikTok creator explained that she took the video three years ago when she went to Bali, Indonesia, to study abroad and work on a documentary about animal welfare.
"While we were there, we saw really interesting wildlife," Phillips said in the video. "And I remember when we saw this little guy swim up, we picked him up. There were about three of us passing him around and we didn't think anything of it."
Phillips said in the video that she didn't learn the octopus was potentially lethal until she posted a picture from the trip on her Instagram story. (She didn't specify how she learned the octopus venom was deadly. Insider could not immediately reach Phillips for comment.)
Numerous comments pointed out that animals with bright colors are often quite dangerous. "I've watched enough Animal Planet to know that beautiful animals with bright colors are a no-touching zone," one commenter said.
Many "toxic animals" actually have "warning colors, hues that would-be predators quickly learn and remember to avoid," according to National Geographic.