Video of battle between sea lion and octopus recorded off Nanaimo

A Nanaimo woman says she is shocked after she captured video of a rare wildlife encounter involving a sea lion and an octopus.

Lindsay Bryant was about to go for one of her regular cold water swims south of Nanaimo when she saw a commotion in the water about 100 metres from shore.

“I noticed it wasn’t a regular sea-lion-catching-a-fish-type situation,” says Bryant. “So I got my phone out.”

She recorded the encounter, which lasted about five minutes. But it wasn’t until she got home that she realized what the sea lion was fighting with.

“I think my jaw dropped,” Bryant says. “I was like, ‘Oh wow, it’s an octopus and I haven’t seen one before.’ It was definitely a surprise.”

Since posting the video online, Bryant has had lots of interest in the rare encounter she witnessed, including calls from international media.

She was also told that sea lions do prey on octopus and the octopus was likely putting fighting off becoming the sea lion’s next meal.

Bryant says she enjoys all the wildlife Vancouver Island has to offer and was taken aback by everyone who connected with her about the encounter.

“I think it’s a nice break with everything going on in the world,” she says. “Just to see some nature and something a little bit different.”