Videos of octopuses latching onto Palawan fishermen's faces go viral

Videos of octopuses latching onto the faces of two fishermen from Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, have gone viral online, prompting them to address speculation that the encounters were staged for content.

According to Kuya Kim’s report on “24 Oras” on Wednesday, the videos show fishermen Clarence Tamula and Jesser Cervantes struggling to remove the octopuses, whose powerful suction cups tightly gripped their faces.

In one clip, Clarence can be seen pulling at the octopus's body and tentacles before using a stick to finally remove it. In another, Jesser resorted to using a paddle to loosen the octopus's grip.

According to Clarence, the experience was extremely painful.

"It really hurts. It feels like it’s sucking on your skin. Your face also turns red,” Clarence shared in Filipino.

Jesser echoed the same experience, saying the octopus tightened its grip the longer it remained attached.

“The longer it stays attached and tightens its grip, the more painful it gets because it sucks on your skin even harder,” he explained.

The viral clips prompted some social media users to speculate that the incidents had been staged to gain online attention.

However, the fishermen admitted that while they do create vlog content, the videos were not scripted.

They said they produce videos documenting their octopus fishing trips in Palawan, explaining that catching octopus has become one of their side jobs because fishing for other species often requires higher expenses.

“Catching fish can be quite expensive, so we join larger fishing boats to catch octopuses,” Jesser said.

Clarence insisted the octopus attached itself to his face on its own.

“It wasn’t intentional. It just latched onto me on its own,” he explained.

The fishermen explained that during octopus hunting, they usually bite part of the animal's head to weaken it before handling it. However, they said some octopuses fight back, sometimes clinging to the their face with their suction cups.

“The video wasn’t scripted, it’s something you really can’t avoid. As you can see in the video, octopuses become restless once you handle them. On top of that, they have a really strong grip,” Jesser said.

Per Kuya Kim, octopuses have eight arms, each lined with hundreds of suction cups. Nearly two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are located in its arms, allowing them to perform simple movements independently of the brain.

He added that octopuses also have special receptors that help them determine whether an object they touch is edible or dangerous. Their arms are also capable of regenerating over time if severed. —Jade Veronique Yap/CDC, GMA News