Animals can’t speak our language, but they often find ways to communicate with us. One of the most adorable examples of this happened to Pei Yan Heng, a secondary school teacher from Singapore. Years ago, she went out of her way to rescue an octopus that had become stuck during the low tide, saving its life. As they parted ways, the octopus seemed to thank her with a simple gesture.
The encounter took place back in 2013 in Cyrene Reef. After noticing the beached octopus, the teacher feared the creature might dehydrate. Quickly, she scooped it into a plastic cup and gently placed it back in the water, where the octopus seemed to come to its senses after some stressful moments. Unexpectedly, the cephalopod swam up to where Heng was, putting its tiny tentacles on her foot for a few moments as if saying, “Thank you. Great job!”
“Released a stranded octopus that got stuck on the sand when the tide went out in the shallow water,” Heng recounted on YouTube, where she posted a video of the rescue. “After recovering, the octopus moved towards my left booties and placed one of its tentacles on my booties for some time before moving off.”
Heng lives in Singapore and explores Asia, so this is far from her only interesting animal encounter. Her YouTube channel documents encounters with a decorator crab and a group of reef sharks. While she seems to have dropped the habit of filming—her latest YouTube videos were posted five years ago—her kind action will never be forgotten by the internet community nor the octopus. Still, she seems to be doing some traveling, which she shares on Instagram.
Watch the sweet encounter with the octopus below.
Pei Yan Heng saved an octopus that got stuck on the beach. The creature then seemed to thank her by putting its tiny tentacles on her foot.
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