When traveling to foreign countries, it's always good to have a full understanding of things. You don't want to eat any mysterious foods, go to any questionable places or, in the case of one tourist, hold any strange animals.
That woman went to Bali and shared a clip from the trip on TikTok. In it, she is holding a tiny brown octopus with dark circles, letting the creature move around in her hands. At the time, she thought it was just a fun little experience, but later, when she looked up what the animal was, she realized how serious an encounter she just had. The tentacled critter was actually a blue-ringed octopus, one of the most deadly animals on the planet because in its tiny body it has enough venom to kill 26 people.
Making it even more scary - due to of how small and painless the animal's bite is, most people don't even know they've been bitten until it's too late, only realizing something is wrong when they can't breathe and have become paralyzed.
The woman captioned her TikTok, "Called my dad crying 3 hours later in Bali."
Thankfully, the woman was unharmed, but it could've been bad for her. According to the Ocean Conservancy, if someone is bitten by a blue-ringed octopus, "First, the venom blocks nerve signals throughout the body, causing muscle numbness. Other symptoms include nausea, vision loss or blindness, loss of senses and loss of motor skills. Ultimately, it will cause muscle paralysis - including the muscles needed for humans to breathe, leading to respiratory arrest."
While there is no known antidote for the venom, if artificial respiration is started immediately, victims can still be saved.
In a follow-up video, the woman explained she picked up the octopus while walking on a beach and checking out the different wildlife in Bali.
Photo: Getty Images