A Great Barrier Reef exclusive .
Coral spawning at night , a wondrous natural event , receives much media coverage . Recently , off Magnetic Island , a rare event was witnessed - octopuses in large numbers slithering about the shallows after prawns , crabs and small fish sheltering near or under rocks.
The creatures of the deep, numbering 50 in a rough count, were using an extremely low tide ,after a new moon, making it easier to chase their prey.
They were seen cover clumps of rocks with their bodies and use their tentacles like a throw net to probe and catch sealife sheltering below.
The event took place off Cockle Bay , the city of Townsville visible in the distance , between 1 and 2AM. A UV lamp added another eerie and spectacular dimension by causing coral to light up , see below .
The hunting pack varied in size from small to much larger ones, all darting about in very little depth of water , in a feeding frenzy.
Superb series provided by ace cameraman and nature watcher, Mat Simpson .
