Giant Pacific octopus spotted off Vancouver Island

A stunning video of what appears to be a giant Pacific octopus in British Columbia waters has garnered millions of views on social media.

Brooke Sattar, of Port Alberni, British Columbia, was on the waters of Alberni Cove when the massive octopus appeared.

She was with her family setting shrimp traps last week, and when they went to retrieve one, the octopus was clinging to the side of the trap.

« I grew up there and I’ve never seen an octopus totally cling to a shrimp trap, » Sattar told CTV News on Friday. « That was super cool. »

The Port Alberni woman says the octopus, which she says was about 2.4 meters long (eight feet), clung to the side of the trap for two to three minutes before letting go and swimming away.

« It certainly seemed a lot longer than that, but it wasn’t long at all, » she said.

Sattar posted the video on Tik Tok on Wednesday, and by Friday afternoon it had received over 33.8 million views.

She says she didn’t expect the video to be so popular, but she’s glad people around the world can get a glimpse of British Columbia.

« I always love sharing the beauty of Vancouver Island and all those experiences that not everyone can have, » she said.