The San Antonio Aquarium is defending its giant Pacific octopus after a July 14 incident left a 6-year-old boy, Leo, with bruises covering his arm, prompting a heated dispute with the child’s mother, Britney Taryn.
Taryn described the encounter in a viral TikTok video, saying the octopus wrapped its tentacles around Leo’s arm for about five minutes at a touch tank, refusing to let go.
“The octopus starts coming out of the tank, and the reason we don’t have pictures or videos of this is because my friend was also freaking out,” she said.
Three employees used ice packs to distract the octopus and free Leo, whose arm was marked with dark purple suction bruises from wrist to armpit. The marks, which the staff called “hickeys,” lasted about a week.
The aquarium, in a statement to PEOPLE, said, “At the San Antonio Aquarium, the safety and well-being of our guests, staff, and animals are our top priorities.”
The company claimed Taryn “leaned her child over the exhibit barrier, allowing him to reach into the habitat without staff supervision.”
The octopus exhibit, a 1,000-gallon habitat with a tall barrier requiring a 24-inch reach, is not a touch tank, the aquarium clarified.
“The octopus displayed typical, curious behavior by touching and holding the child’s arm,” the statement said, adding, “At no point was the octopus aggressive or attempting to harm the child.”
Taryn disputed the aquarium’s account, calling it “not only false” but “defamatory” and an attempt to deflect from serious issues.
“Contrary to the aquarium’s claims, no medical attention was offered for my son, and I was not asked to sign an incident report,” she told PEOPLE.
“Typically, contact with the octopus in that exhibit would only be possible by lifting a child over the glass, something we have done in the past under direct staff instruction. This tank is never staffed, and the public is often left to interact with the animals unsupervised.”
Taryn, who does not blame the octopus, added, “We understand that its behavior is completely natural. Our goal is to advocate for better conditions for the animals and to ensure that they are housed in environments that are safe and appropriate.”
The aquarium maintained that its staff responded promptly and that the octopus, which can lift up to 700 pounds and has about 200 suction cups per arm, is healthy and not harmful.
It emphasized strict safety protocols, noting, “Octopuses are highly intelligent and curious creatures, and their interactions with humans are often playful and exploratory.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for the octopus’s release, stating on August 1, “This slimy facility’s exploitative encounters are a recipe for disaster, as injuries abound when timid animals such as octopuses are denied everything natural and important to them.”
PETA urged the aquarium to stop forced human-animal interactions and release the octopus to its natural habitat or an accredited facility.
Taryn, who reached out to the aquarium to document the incident and request safety protocol details but received no response, is campaigning for improved animal conditions. The aquarium did not respond to further requests for comment.