Man casually picks up literal death in the Philippines, unaware what he just called ‘sweet’ could have killed him in seconds

A video clip of a seemingly innocent beach moment has gone viral and revealed a frighteningly close call with nature.

British traveler Andy McConnell, known for his work as a journalist and historian featured on the U.K. “Antiques Roadshow,” was enjoying a vacation in the Philippines when he stumbled upon what looked like a tiny, colorful octopus while swimming and exploring the shallow waters off Santa Fe on Cebu Island.

In footage he posted online, McConnell can be seen gently picking up the creature, seemingly fascinated by its beauty and striking patterns. He even comments on how he’s never seen something like it before, delighting in the creature’s bright markings without realizing the grave danger lying underneath.

McConnell says in the post, “The kids here have caught a baby octopus,” before he picks it up. “I’ve never seen it before. It’s beautiful, look at all that blue.”

Within hours of McConnell’s upload, the video spread on social media, greeted with a chorus of alarmed responses from wildlife experts and internet users alike.

Once online viewers identified the creature as a blue-ringed octopus, the narrative shifted from an interesting beach discovery to a harrowing tale of good fortune.

What are blue-ringed octopi?

Living in shallow coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific region, like in the Philippines, what makes blue-ringed octopi dangerous is the deadly venom they carry. In fact, blue-ringed octopi, belonging to the genus Hapalochlaena, are among the most venomous marine animals known to science.

According to Live Science, despite often being only a few inches across, they produce a potent neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX), which is more than 1,000 times as toxic as cyanide and capable of killing multiple adult humans with a single bite.

Adding to the risk, this toxin isn’t immediately painful. Those bitten individuals can remain unaware of their exposure until progressive paralysis begins. TTX blocks nerve transmission, leading to muscle paralysis, respiratory failure, heart complications, and, if untreated, death.

There is currently no known antivenom, so treatment focuses on supportive care — keeping the victim breathing until the toxin is metabolized — which may not always be successful.

McConnell got lucky

Blue-ringed octopi are not intrinsically aggressive and typically only release venom when they feel provoked or handled. In McConnell’s case, the octopus did not inject its toxin, and he fortunately walked away unharmed. It had already been handled by several children in the area, possibly explaining why it didn’t attack. But notably, the pulsing blue dots on the creature seen in McConnell’s post are a warning sign.

Once he realized what happened, McConnell said in a follow-up post, “Exploring the world alone, 11,000km from home, inevitably involves taking risks… But nothing as extreme as my apparent brush with death yesterday, which was both inadvertent & to which I was entirely oblivious until I posted about it.”