The horrifying moment tens of octopuses devoured an entire whale carcass has been caught on camera.
Researchers from the Nautilus expedition saw the nightmare-inducing scene during a recent dive to Davidson Seamount off central California’s coast.
Nautilus explained: “The skeletal remains of the whale lying on its back are estimated to be 4-5 meters long.
“The team is working to identify the species, but it is confirmed to be a baleen whale as indicated by baleen remaining along the whale’s jawbones.”
An initial analysis suggests that the whale died fairly recently, with baleen, blubber and some internal organs still remaining.
Several sea creatures were scavenging what they could from the carcass.
Nautilus said: “The site also exhibits an interesting mid-stage of ecological succession, as both large scavengers like eel pouts are still stripping the skeleton of blubber, and bone-eating Osedax worms are starting to consume lipids (fats) from the bones.
“Other organisms seen onsite include crabs, grenadier, polychaetes, and deep-sea octopus.”
The footage comes shortly after scientists placed a dead alligator at bottom of the sea to see if any fish would eat it.
Researchers from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), placed two alligators at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico in February 2019.
The experiment was carried out to understand how land animals impact ocean food webs.
Within 18 hours of dropping the first alligator, the researchers discovered at least a dozen giant isopods on the animal.
