Octopus wrestles with cameraman

This is the moment a man found himself in an arm wrestling contest with a giant pacific octopus.

Diver David Malvestuto was photographing the cephalopod with a friend in Bluefish Cove off Carmel, California when the creature lunged at his camera.

An underwater tussle ensued but despite Mr Malvestuto's arms deficit, he refused to give up.

Fellow diver and underwater photographer Warren Murray captured the action on video.

"Before you know it, I saw an arm grab hold of him and then its whole body just lunged onto the camera," Mr Murray told CBS News.

"I was worried that the octopus wasn’t actually going to come off his camera and I was just making sure I got it on video, otherwise the people on land wouldn’t believe us."

This was not the first time a curious octopus has attempted to steal a diver's camera.

In 2010, diver Victor Huang was forced to pursue one eight-armed creature for five minutes after it took off with his camera, The Independent reported.

He eventually retrieved the device but was forced to use a spear gun to prise it from the octopus' grip.

Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Matthew Henry