MOM DOESN'T LIKE PLAYFUL AQUARIUM OCTOPUS

Octopus attacks boy, 6, at aquarium then makes EYE CONTACT with him from glass tank

 

By Martha Williams 

 

Daily Mail

Aug 1, 2025 

 

 

An octopus attacked a 6-year-old boy at an interactive exhibit at the San Antonio Aquarium, according to his mother — who also claimed workers brushed off the incident involving what they called the “super playful” creature.

 

An octopus wrapped itself around a young boy at an aquarium in Texas and wouldn't let go, leaving the terrified child with bruises along his arm and frighteningly staring at him.

Britney Taryn said her son Leo, 6, was ambushed by the creature on July 14 at the San Antonio Aquarium, where visitors are allowed to interact with various animals.

The mother told KSAT that employees would encourage guests to play with the octopus in its tank, but that none were present when the incident occurred. 

Taryn and a friend who was there at the time panicked when the octopus suddenly gripped onto Leo. 

'It was suctioned onto him and so I tried to help him get down and away from the glass,' the mom told KSAT.

The women began to yell for help while Taryn tried to the animal to free her son.

When an employee eventually arrived, he said 'oh - she's super playful today' before struggling to get the octopus off the boy, Taryn recalled.

The worker called for back-up and more staffers showed up to try to pry the creature away.

 

Britney Taryn said her son Leo, 6, was ambushed by an octopus on July 14 at the San Antonio Aquarium, where visitors are allowed to interact with various animals

Taryn told her story on TikTok and earned millions of views

 

Taryn said the octopus wrapped around other employees before releasing its grip, but refused to let go of her son, who is an animal lover and regular visitor of the aquarium. 

When the animal finally let go, Leo had bruises from his wrist up to his armpit.

Taryn said her son remained calm during the entire ordeal.

'He was very relaxed about the whole thing, so I was relaxed... because he knows so much about animals, so much about octopuses,' she told KSAT.

When they returned to the tank two hours later, Taryn said the octopus made eye contact with her son, swam over to him and turned white. 

Taryn said she contacted the aquarium several times to see if they had closed the tank or removed the octopus, but 'we were not contacted back.'

When she returned to the aquarium days later - after telling her story on TikTok and earning millions of views - she was shocked to find the octopus still on display.

'I'm just really worried that something worse is going to happen,' the mother said.

 

Trayn told KSAT that employees would encourage guests to play with the octopus in its tank, but that none were present when the incident occurred

When the animal finally let go, the boy had bruises from his wrist up to his armpit

 

Taryn has since filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). She also said she filed a report with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, contacted her local congressman and reached out to other aquariums. 

She told KSAT that she learned the aquarium is not accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the aquarium for comment. 

The aquarium posted its own TikTok showing a staff member playing with an octopus and letting it grip onto her arm. 

The octopus incident is just the latest in a series of controversies at the San Antonio Aquarium. 

Surveillance video from July 2018 captured three people stealing a horn shark – a species of bullhead shark that grows up to four feet and 20 lbs – from an open pool where visitors could touch the animals, KSAT reported.  

The suspects disguised the female shark as a baby and placed it in a stroller. It was not returned to the aquarium until two days later. 

In the days following the theft, the aquarium said it would not shut down touch pools.