Watch a Curious Octopus Try to Dismantle A Scuba Diver’s Camera

— -- A scuba diver’s close encounter with a curious octopus almost cost him $15,000.

Joe Kistel, an underwater videographer for the reef-conservation nonprofit TISIRI, was filming a reef on July 6 when he came across an inquisitive octopus.

Kistel said he was diving off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, when he spotted an octopus under the reef.

“Octopuses change colors and textures so I was hoping to capture some of that,” Kistel told ABC News.

“It was cute for a while, then he or she decided to reach for the camera,” Kistel said.

The video captured the octopus slowing making its way to the camera -- and eventually engulfed it.

“I think it was trying to take a selfie,” Kistel said. “But then I saw there was the camera’s gasket on one of its arms.”

The octopus could be seen holding the camera’s gasket at 0:51 in the video uploaded on YouTube by Kistel.

“I was freaking out because that was an expensive camera,” he said.

Although the octopus nearly destroyed his $15,000 camera, he doesn’t think it had bad intentions.

“I think it was just curious. They are very intelligent,” Kistel said.

Kistel said he had bumped into the exact same octopus just last month. Their first encounter was caught on the camera as well: