World's Fastest Shark Gives Octopus a Ride on Its Back Off New Zealand Coast, Stunning Scientists
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03/21/2025 06:03 PM
"That's an octopus! Oh my god!" an observer exclaims
Wednesday Davis/University of Auckland
Octopus rides mako sharkAn octopus got to rest its many legs when it ended up aboard a mako shark for a leisurely ride.
In a video captured in December 2023 and released in March 2025, the two species were in peaceful harmony just below the water's surface as the mako shark appeared to usher the peach-orange colored octopus around the Hauraki Gulf. "Sharktopus," as University of Auckland researchers affectionately dubbed the friendship, "is one of the strangest things" and a "mysterious find," the institution wrote in an Instagram post.
Watch the remarkable footage below:
The bright orange octopus is seen perched behind the shark's head in both aerial and underwater footage.
"That's an octopus!" an unidentified voice exclaims. "Oh my God!"
Rochelle Constantine, a professor and marine ecologist at the university, initially thought the octopus was a buoy, or a big bite, she told The New York Times. But when her colleague Wednesday Davis launched a drone in hopes of getting a better look, "we could see these tentacles moving," Constantine said.
"The encounter is a reminder of the wonders of the ocean," Constantine said in the post. "By supporting conservation initiatives, we can help to ensure that such extraordinary moments keep happening."
Media Drum World/Alamy; Georgette Apol/Alamy
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Researchers were baffled at the sight — considering octopi primarily keep to the sea bed, while mako sharks tend to steer clear of that area, the university's post read.
"It makes no sense that these two animals should be at the same place and time to encounter each other," Constantine told NYT. "We have no idea how they found each other."
Still, it was a "calm scene," and both the mako shark and the octopus seemed quite content. After their encounter, though, Constantine shared that it's possible the octopus fell off and the shark ate it, though it's just as likely that the octopus fell to the seabed safely, due to the shallow waters.
