Scuba divers, Warren Murray and David Malvestuto, wrestled with a curious giant Pacific Octopus that tried to take their camera.
The experienced divers were some 80ft below sea level at Bluefish Cove at Point Lobos State Reserve in Carmel, Calif., when the attack occurred, according to several news reports.
Giant Pacific Octopuses usually dwell at about 200-600 feet, which is why the diver duo was quite excited to see one so close to the surface.
"It's very rare to see that type of octopus in the 80 feet of water we were in," Malvestuto said,KSBW.com reported.
The mollusk turned out to be a bit camera-shy and started tugging at Murray's camera. The divers stayed calm throughout the fight. Murray eventually managed to get back his camera by clicking on the camera's lights, according to KSWB.
"I was a little worried that the octopus wasn't actually going to come off his camera," Malvestuto, who recorded the incident, told CBS8.com "I just wanted to make sure I had it on video. Otherwise the people on land would never believe us."
Giant Pacific Octopuses are highly intelligent and can open jars. They can mimic other octopuses and even solve mazes in lab tests, according to National Geographic.
Back in 2010, another cheeky octopus stole a camera in New Zealand. The diver- Victor Huang- said that he was scared at first, but decided to chase the thief to get his Panasonic Lumix camera. The five-minute long chase ended with Huang using a speargun to retrieve the camera from the cephalopod's grab.
"I honestly believe that it saw the bright blue digital camera and went 'oh I need that', you know?' Huang told stuff.co.nz., in an earlier interview.
Watch that video, here.