An octopus was spotted near the Piazzale Roma, making it the latest creature to be seen in the Venice’s canals after COVID-19 lockdown cleared the city of pollution and boats.

Experts are wondering how the octopus got there, suggesting it could’ve been released as a prank or escaped from a market or could’ve come in from the Adriatic Sea.

The coronavirus lockdown has brought the gondolas and boats in the city to a standstill, leaving the water surface clear as sediment settles at the bottom, according to experts.

The director of the Natural History Museum in Venice, Luca Mizzan, told Corriere del Veneto: “It’s really very strange than an octopus can get there in that environment so far from the sea and close to the hinterland.

“Nothing can be ruled out even if it’s a joke. The video shows that he is a visibly healthy octopus, he is not afraid.”

Irene Guarneri, one of the ecologists observing the video, said octopuses are not ‘exempt’ from the lagoon but are ‘certainly very rare.’

She said: “Surely it is related to the decrease in traffic due to the lockdown.”

Crabs, schools of fish, and jellyfish have already been seen in the water after the canals were emptied of its millions of tourists due to coronavirus lockdown.

Zoologist Andrea Mangoni said: “The flora and fauna of the lagoon have not changed during lockdown. What has changed is our chance to see them.”

Sediment settle at the bottom as the waters are no longer stirred by gondolas, boats, vaporetti and taxis that usually cross it.

Mangoni said that this is a great opportunity to rediscover the diverse ecosystem populating the city’s lagoon.

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