He discovered it was an octopus only when he walked closer with his two-year-old daughter and was filming a video of it when it suddenly struck in their direction.

“After going after a seagull, it then decided my daughter and I deserved a lashing!” Karlson wrote on his Instagram page, sharing the video, which has since been viewed over 7000 times.

About 20 minutes later, Mr. Karlson and his family set up a tent further down the beach, and he decided to don some goggles and take a dip alone.

As he swam over a pile of crab shells, Mr. Karlson suddenly realized he was in the octopus’s territory, “its home amongst a crab graveyard.”

Mr. Karlson said the enraged sea creature was not done with him, “it came after me again,” and he felt a “whip across my arm.”

“My goggles became fogged, and I remember being shocked and confused,” Karlson told Yahoo News Australia.

You can see the initial attack by the cranky cephalopod here!