Scientists Take Incredible Snapshot of Octopus Riding Shark

A real-life "Sharktopus" situation unfolded in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island in New Zealand, and scientists couldn't believe their eyes when they stumbled upon the extremely rare sighting.

The extraordinary encounter happened in December 2023, but it only came to light last week when researchers published their finding. The researchers were studying the Hauraki Gulf as part of an ongoing project, when they spotted a large metallic grey dorsal fin, which turned out to be a short-fin mako shark.

Marine scientists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand made a bizarre discovery when they spotted an octopus riding a shark.

Courtesy of Wednesday Davis

But a closer look at the beast had them in disbelief. 

"[W]hat was that orange patch on its head? A buoy? An injury?" asked Rochelle Constantine, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences, in the research paper.

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The professor went on to write that the group launched a drone and dropped a GoPro camera in the water and "they saw something unforgettable: an octopus perched atop the shark's head, clinging on with its tentacles."

The sighting, or "sharktopus," is extremely rare and super mysterious because, as the research paper noted, octopus are mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don't favor the deep waters.

Admittedly, the group monitored the rare sighting for a mere 10 minutes before moving on with their project.

"We moved on after 10 minutes so I can’t tell you how what happened next," the professor writes. "The octopus may have been in for quite the experience since the world’s fastest shark species can reach [31 miles per hour]."

The professor's paper closed with a plea to protect marine habitats. And the "sharktopus" encounter "is a reminder of the wonders of the ocean."

"One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea," Constantine writes. "By supporting conservation initiatives, we can help to ensure that such extraordinary moments keep happening."