Okay, this is a weird one.

Grant Keddie, Curator of Archaeology at the Royal British Columbia Museum, authored "Hunting the Devil," a paper for the Museum about the octopus hunting practices of BC's indigenous tribes. It's clear, authoritative and a very good read about an unfamiliar subject. Click here to read "Hunting the Devil." (http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/hhistory/huntingthedevil.html) Keddie winds up the piece with a real corker, though:

"Among the stories about octopuses, there is an interesting one that shows that they also were able to recognize a good protein source. The Victoria Daily Colonist of December 24, 1888 reports in "In the Grasp of a Devilfish" that the body of T. J. Hughes, who had "evidently drown," was found floating in Puget Sound "clasped in the embrace of a huge octopus."

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

Clem

Not until now. Perhaps the octopus was merely investigating the corpse? They are curious creatures...

I saw a photograph in an issue of National Geographic that showed a GPO near Campbell River BC devouring the body of a dead dogfish. It's a fairly well-known picture; I've seen it reprinted a few times since. How stands the GPO on scavenging?

Not until now. Perhaps the octopus was merely investigating the corpse? They are curious creatures...

I saw a photograph in an issue of National Geographic that showed a GPO near Campbell River BC devouring the body of a dead dogfish. It's a fairly well-known picture; I've seen it reprinted a few times since. How stands the GPO on scavenging?

Iv seen the picture too...the giant octopus is red isn't it? It's been known that giant pacific octopuses can possibly hunt down live sharks in camleflauge fashion.

GPOs have been known to scavenge. They have been found eating dead salmon thrown off docks in the Pac NW