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Giant Squid Caught Near Japan

Posted by Zonk on from the she's-a-biggun dept.

Frankenbuffer writes "Researchers on a quest to find a live giant squid succeeded in filming one south of Tokyo. They used a smaller bait squid to lure the giant squid to the water's surface. The giant squid, a young female about 7 metres long, put up quite a fight as it was brought aboard the research vessel. It died in the process. The researchers believe that giant squid may be more plentiful that believed previously. From the article: '"Sperm whales need from 500 to 1,000 kilograms of food every day," he said. "There are believed to be 200,000 or so of them, and that would suggest there are quite a few squid for them to be feeding on. I don't think they are in danger of extinction at all." Having filmed the squid, Mr. Kubodera said his next goal is to further study the creatures' habits in their natural surroundings -- at a depth of around 650 metres.'"

4 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Watched the episode a few weeks ago... by GuyverDH · · Score: 3, Informative

    The problem with trying to watch at around 610 meters, is that the pictures were taken at over 1000 meters, if I recall the show correctly, it may have been closer to 1300 or 1500 meters.

    The squid put up a fight because one of it's tentacles was caught on one of the hooks that the bait was attached to. It eventually detached or snapped off the tentacle to escape, leaving the Dr. with one very long piece of evidence attached to the hook.

    It was a very interesting show. It also showed another researcher working on the other end of the spectrum, capturing live baby giant squid, attempting to get them to live in captivity.

    --
    Who is general failure, and why is he reading my hard drive?
    1. Re:Watched the episode a few weeks ago... by woohoodonuts · · Score: 3, Informative

      On top of that, the claim about the squid in this particular article is incorrect. The giant squid is not the largest invertebrate. The Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, or colossal squid, is. Also, the claims of 18 meters, 60 feet, are exaggerated due to stretching after death. The colossal squids are generally accepted to be around 45 to 50 feet in length.

  2. CNN actaully has the video by CXI · · Score: 4, Informative

    You can see the video linked on CNN's article (after an ad of course):

    http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/12/22/giant.s quid.ap/index.html

  3. Re:So if they filmed it... by Patentmat · · Score: 5, Informative
    The video is right here: (mod please)

    http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoChannel.aspx?stor yId=0e4daf2c9503387b6a614482bc1d5d8a4ae79972&rpc=2 3

    After the video ends be sure to watch the video of super-electricity man and the new Swiss jetpack