Sept. 22 (UPI) -- A South Carolina beachgoer had a once-in-a-lifetime encounter when she picked up a shell and found an octopus nestled inside.
Lori McGee was walking on the Isle of Palms when she picked up a whelk shell and checked to see if there was a crab inside, WCIV-TV reported. An octopus crawled out of the shell and onto McGee's arm.
McGee posted about the experience on Instagram.
"I've lived here for 12 years, walk the beach year round, but today I witnessed something I never could have imagined," she wrote.
McGee said the octopus stayed in the shell long enough for her to take a picture before crawling out and going back into the ocean.
"We just watched the movie 'My Octopus Teacher' a few days ago, so I do think this rare encounter was meant to be," McGee wrote.