Video captures octopus grabbing crab in surprise land attack

(Screenshot from Porsche Indrisie YouTube video)

An incredible video has captured the moment when an octopus leaps from a rock pool to launch a surprise attack on a crab before dragging the unfortunate crustacean to its death.

The 50-second YouTube video shows a yellow crab near the edge of a pool. Suddenly, an octopus emerges from the waters, catching the crab completely unawares. Carefully avoiding the crab’s claws, the octopus ensnares its prey with its suckers before quickly retreating to the watery depths with its meal.

The video has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube.

The amazing footage was taken by Porsche Indrisie in Yallingup, Western Australia. On her YouTube account, Indrisie explained that she was randomly filming the yellow crab and “was shocked to capture an octopus leap out of the water and take it down!”

Crabs are a core part of the octopus diet. The cephalopod employs its hard parrot-like beak to bite into the crab. It then uses nerve venom to paralyze its prey and dissolves the crab’s muscle with saliva before pulling the shell open and sucking out the liquefied flesh, according to HowStuffWorks.