Octopus Steals Camera, Takes Video

A San Francisco man living in New Zealand was shooting some underwater video last week off the southern coast of Wellington when he got a bit too close to a curious octopus.

The octopus decided to steal the diver's expensive camera, and do a bit of shooting of his own!

Video: Original YouTube Video of the Octopus' Thievery

Victor Huang said the octopus might have been attracted to the metallic blue color of the camera.

"It just saw something a bit different and unique and wanted to collect it for its little gypsy collection," Huang said.

"Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez pointed out that it's interesting that octupi like to collect items to keep in their lairs for protection.

Huang, who was diving without an oxygen tank, said he was initially "freaked out" by the octopus, and feared for his life. However, Huang added that he soon realized the eight-legged creature was just after his $700 camera, prying it with its strong arms from his hands.

"That's nuts. That's so crazy," "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith remarked.

But Huang wasn't going to say good-bye to his equipment that easily. After going up for air, he chased the octopus for nearly five minutes from the surface, finally noticing that the octopus had slowed down beneath him. He dove down to the animal and held out a spear gun. The octopus attached, opening its mouth, providing a moment for Huang to reach into the animal's mouth and pull out his camera.

Smith pointed out that the beak on an octopus can crack open rocks. So why did Huang bother?

For the octopus' footage, Huang responded.

"I figured that camera must have had amazing footage, so I kind of took that risk and just went for it."

For more of Huang's story, click on the video below.