Woman Pets Colorful Sea Creature At Bali, Then Realizes It Can Kill Over 20 Humans In Minutes

A tourist from Virginia has taken to Tik Tok to share a spine-chilling video of herself unwittingly holding a blue-ringed octopus, with venom enough to kill over 20 humans in a few minutes.

Kaylin Phillips of Virginia was on a trip to Bali when she found the beautiful creature, reports Yahoo News Australia.

The video shows Phillips holding the small sea creature in her hand while a friend splashes water on it. The octopus is seen moving around her palm.

"I actually held two of them in the same day. I tried to feed them oranges and played with them for a solid 20 minutes," says Phillips.

She wrote alongside the video on Tiktok, "Going to Bali and unknowingly holding one of the most dangerous animals."

She only realized how dangerous the creature was, after she looked up the species on the internet.

According to experts, Blue-ringed octopuses have tetrodotoxin, one of the most serious and deadly types of venom found in the ocean. Its salivary glands produce venom, which can paralyze a human in minutes.

"Its venom is 1000 times more powerful than cyanide, and this golf-ball-sized powerhouse packs enough venom to kill 26 humans within minutes," the group says on its website.

More terrorizing is the fact that its bite is usually painless, that we might not know we have been bitten until it’s too late. Though not aggressive, the octopus is likely to bite humans if cornered or handled.

The shocking footage has garnered a lot of reactions from viewers.

"I've watched enough animal planet to know that beautiful animals with bright colours are a no-touching zone," wrote one.

"The bright colour pattern is supposed to be a warning," commented another. "Do they not teach that in science anymore?"

Another comment read, "God protecting you girl."

Earlier, an Australian family holidaying in the coastal town of Dunsborough had gone on record of how they narrowly avoided death after taking home two deadly blue-ringed octopuses.

Sophie Pix, 11, unknowingly picked up the creatures while duck-diving for shells with her brother Will during a beach grip. Her father Aaron put those shells in his pocket to take home for cleaning only to find a blue-ringed octopus inside.

“I freaked out and then I found another one in my pocket with its tentacles on my leg. It must have been on my leg for 15 or 20 minutes," said Aaron Pix. He immediately called an ambulance and spent about three hours under observation.

There is currently no antivenom for a blue-ringed octopus bite. If bitten by one, people should immediately call for help, monitor breathing and airways and also apply mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, according to the Australian Museum.