
This is the dramatic moment an octopus tried to fight off a seagull almost twice its size by wrapping its tentacles around the bird's beak.

The gull had been hunting around the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Reserve in Huntington Beach, California, when it spotted the murky-green octopus in the the incoming tide.

It then plunged down into the water and used its sharp beak to peck at the mollusc below.

The seagull had been hunting around the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Reserve in Huntington Beach when he spotted the octopus in the water

He then plunged down and pounced on his prey and tried to pull it from the water but the octopus began to fight back unexpectedly

However, the octopus unexpectedly defended itself by wrapping its eight long tentacles around the beak in a bid to tape it up.

An intense fight ensued, but unfortunately for the octopus, the seagull succeed and managed to prod his beak just enough to lift its prey out of the water.

The unfolding tussle was spotted by Dr Andrew Lee, who had been taking a lunchtime walk around the wetland reseve, and quickly snapped it on his camera.

Dr Lee, from Irvine, California said: 'I noticed a seagull circling a spot on the incoming tide as if he were searching for something - feeling that some interesting event might happen, I followed the seagull with my camera ready at hand.

The octopus began to wrap its tentacles around the bird's beak in a bid to bound its mouth and fight off the attack by the bird

The bird almost loses his grip of the octopus but begins to prod the mollusc with its sharp beak in a bid to subdue the animal

'Suddenly the seagull flew up a little bit then immediately dived down on something under water.

'As he settled down, he began stabbing repeatedly at his prey with his sharp pointed beak.

'I thought it was a big fish that he was trying to catch but to my surprise, several tentacles of a rather large octopus appeared out of the water and I realised the seagull was picking on an octopus.

'The octopus was fighting back, he tried to wrap his long tentacles around the seagull's long beak.

'The seagull fended off the octopus' attack by shaking his head vigorously and then flew up. He dived down again on the octopus, stabbing him with his sharp beak.

'This happened several times as the octopus tried to make his escape and fought hard to defend himself.

Eventually the seagull manages to lift the octopus from the water and then flies off with his prey. The dramatic fight was captured on camera by a passing photographer

'It was a really interesting event to see a creature of the water defending himself against a creature of the air.

'I have never seen a seagull hunting an octopus before. The drama which unfolded before my eyes testified to the tenacity and resourcefulness of the seagull.

'On the last dive, the seagull finally succeeded in subduing the equally tenacious octopus.

'After a couple more stabbings to ensure that his prey had given up, the seagull triumphantly lifted the octopus out of the water and flew over to a small outcrop of land to enjoy his lunch.