--- title: Octopus Catches Bald Eagle in Dramatic Viral Fight Video description: A bald eagle and a pink octopus had a surprising conflict after the bird of prey attempted to attack the octopus. canonical: https://time.com/5749613/octopus-catches-bald-eagle/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-12-13T16:35:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T08:49:59.325Z og:title: Here’s What Happens When a Bald Eagle and Pink Octopus With a Death Grip Battle It Out og:description: An unlikely conflict og:url: https://time.com/5749613/octopus-catches-bald-eagle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05d715d023681825/698a077a096a94a9ca6a771c/bald-eagle-octopus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Eagles on Long Island og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s What Happens When a Bald Eagle and Pink Octopus With a Death Grip Battle It Out twitter:description: An unlikely conflict twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05d715d023681825/698a077a096a94a9ca6a771c/bald-eagle-octopus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s What Happens When a Bald Eagle and Pink Octopus With a Death Grip Battle It Out > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=0c420c80-00e9-4f4f-a8f8-289f92ea3543&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Here’s What Happens When a Bald Eagle and Pink Octopus With a Death Grip Battle It Out [Watch (HLS stream): Here’s What Happens When a Bald Eagle and Pink Octopus With a Death Grip Battle It Out](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TgUCLAiS.m3u8) (0:47)  _Published 2019-12-13. One of the more fascinating and bizarre conflicts this year comes via Canada’s Vancouver Island, where a group of fisherman found a bald eagle who was being strangled by a pink octopus that it had earlier attempted to attack._  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Dec 13, 2019 4:35 PM UTC One of the more fascinating and bizarre conflicts this year comes via Canada’s Vancouver Island, where a group of fisherman found a bald eagle who was being strangled by a pink octopus that it had earlier attempted to attack.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Dec 13, 2019 4:35 PM UTC One of the more [fascinating and bizarre conflicts](https://time.com/4680749/best-celebrity-feuds/) this year comes via Canada’s Vancouver Island, where a group of fisherman found a [bald eagle](https://time.com/4824132/bald-eagles-recovery/) who was being strangled by a [pink octopus](https://time.com/5657927/farm-raised-octopus/) that it had earlier attempted to attack. In a video taken by the fishermen, the octopus can be seen holding tightly with all of its tentacles onto the bald eagle, who’s partially submerged in the water, with its wings spread out. It appears that the eagle had probably attempted to capture the octopus, but the cephalopod definitely had other plans, definitively turning the tables on the bird of prey. Luckily for the bald eagle, the fishermen helped to release it from the vise grip of the octopus. 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