The Scottish SPCA was alerted on Friday morning when an octopus was spotted stranded on the sand at Cramond beach.
Scotland’s animal welfare charity received a call from a concerned member of the public after they noticed the curled octopus was in trouble.
Animal Rescue Officer Sarah Auldsmith said, “An octopus should only be out of the water for 30 minutes at a time depending on weather conditions so it was very lucky to be spotted when it was!
“When I arrived at the beach a member of public had already managed to move it into a nearby rock pool as the tide was so far out.”
Sarah added, “We wouldn’t advise the public to touch these octopuses as they have sharp beak like mouths which are used to catch their prey of lobsters, crabs and fish, and can also release toxins.
“We’re hopeful that he’ll go out with the next tide.”
Anyone concerned about the welfare of an animal should contact the Scottish SPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
Photo courtesy of Scottish SPCA
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
