Octopus seen at a car park in Miami

A Miami man has taken a photograph of an octopus which he claims he spotted splayed out in his garage.

Richard Conlin, a property developer and personal trainer who lives on Miami Beach, came downstairs into the garage of his apartment block on Monday, and found the sea creature.
He posted a video online of water spurting through his garage drains, and photos of the octopus.
Mr Conlin said he saw schools of fish alongside the slimy creature. And people immediately suggested that the image was a hoax – but Kathleen Sullivan Sealey, a University of Miami associate biology professor, was asked by The Miami Herald to examine the photos and said they looked real.

The high-density residential area is currently undergoing redevelopment, and heavy rain has worsened the effects of the latest king tide — a seasonal phenomenon, which was exacerbated this month by a super moon. Last year, a University of Miami study found that tidal flooding in Miami Beach has increased 400 per cent since 2006.




She identified the octopus as likely one of two species common in South Florida waters, and said that Miami Beach residents should get used to seeing strange new creatures making sporadic appearances, as rising sea levels push ocean waters and creatures further onto land.

Ms Sealey said the animal was probably a small Caribbean reef octopus or a large Atlantic pygmy octopus.
She told the paper that rising seas mean the drainage pipes are now partially submerged during extreme high tides, allowing sea creatures to enter.

A drainage pipe combines two of an octopus’ favorite things, she said: a meal and a cramped, dark space to crawl into. The octopus was probably curled up inside the drain when the king tide forced it out and onto the garage floor.

“When that much sea water comes in the octopus is like ‘what’s this?’ and goes to explore and ends up in a bad place,” she said.

Security guards from the building put the octopus in a bucket of saltwater and dropped it back in the ocean.

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