Australian Divers Release 'Unusual' Octopus After Rescue

A pair of divers released a paper nautilus in the waters of Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, after the octopus — which National Geographic describes as a species “as unusual as it is beautiful” — had washed up into the shallows.

Footage, shot by diver and keen photographer Jules Casey and narrated by wildlife rescuer Steve Kuiter, documents the duo’s careful movements.

On September 27, a friend of the pair, Myra Kelly, told Casey about the paper nautilus she’d found stranded in shallow water off Frankston, Victoria. Casey called up Kuiter, who soon located the octopus, also known as an argonaut.

Casey noted that the paper nautilus in question must have been female as she was carrying eggs.

“The plan was to release the argonaut in deeper waters on an outgoing tide for her best chance of survival. The plan appeared to work. The next morning I checked and she was gone, which is exactly what we had hoped for,” Casey told Storyful.

Casey often posts footage of what she sees below the waves at Port Phillip Bay to her OneBreathDiver Instagram account, where she has over 110,000 followers.

Her work documents interesting marine life, as well as dangers posed to underwater creatures by pollution. Credit: Jules Casey via Storyful