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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.'"

18 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Well... by garion888 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The giant squid, a young female about 7 metres long, put up quite a fight as it was brought aboard the research vessel" You'd put up quite a fight if you knew you'd be performing in live action tentacle-porn too...

    1. Re:Well... by R2.0 · · Score: 5, Funny

      "The giant squid, a young female about 7 metres long, put up quite a fight as it was brought aboard the research vessel" You'd put up quite a fight if you knew you'd be performing in live action tentacle-porn too..."

      Correction: Live action LESBIAN tentacle porn.

      Makes all the difference.

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  2. 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 Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 2, Funny

      Reminds me of that time this documentarian wanted to film me. I wan't all that into it, so the bastard tore my arm off. Journalists, eh?

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    2. 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.

  3. Tomorrow's Article by splutty · · Score: 4, Funny

    Giant squid sold to Japanese Sushi bar for record amount.

    Reuters (JP): The giant squid captured yesterday for study, has been sold to an up-scale Japanese Sushi Bar for a record amount of $170,000, thus providing a needed extra bit of money for the research team, according to spokesman Tsunemi Kubodera. The Sushi Bar is currently booked full for the next week.

    --
    Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
  4. extinction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't think they are in danger of extinction at all

    I'd feel better if that were determined to be a fact BEFORE you started accidentally killing them.

    1. Re:extinction by jd · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I'm not convinced it was terribly accidental - attempts in New Zealand to catch baby giant squid failed because they were too fragile to be caught, and the previous attempt to film a giant squid resulted in a tentacle being ripped off. The Japanese aren't stupid and aren't ignorant, ergo they knew damn well that the approach they were using was likely to cause grievous and possibly fatal injuries.


      I am much more bothered by this attitude of "oh well, doesn't matter how many we kill", though, than with the incident itself. It is wholly unacceptable that ANY scientist would hold the attitude that brainlessness is acceptable, that extreme interference with what you are studying could even produce useful results even if it were acceptable (sorry, but that has not been accepted in any branch of science for nigh on 100 years), or that the level of endangerment can be measured by how many you destroy (sheer ignorance and a pathetic excuse for an intellect).


      This is not the only area in which species otherwise classed as threatened or endangered have been labelled as free to plunder, and Japan is far from the only nation guilty of such abominable practices. Scientists with any kind of respect for their profession or for the world in which they live should make it clear that such attitudes are not professionally accepted and that researchers who would freely destroy the subjects of their research have no place in the modern scientific community.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:extinction by Toby+The+Economist · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not accidental.

      Their blood is swimming with what is basically anti-freeze.

      At the sort of temperatures found in their native depths, their blood works fine.

      Pull them up to anywhere near the surface and their blood cannot transport oxygen - they suffocate.

      Personally, I'm horrified. These people have spent a *bundle* of our money (tax revenue) and killed a living creature - and for what?

  5. Recursive squid! by jfengel · · Score: 4, Funny

    They used a smaller bait squid to lure the giant squid to the water's surface.

    Does that mean that we can use this squid to get an even BIGGER squid?

  6. Cthulhu ... by lorg · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... will not be pleased by these actions.

  7. End result? by psylew · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So they found one alive and... killed it. That's helpful. I'm sure they can learn fascinating things by studying one that was recently alive, but there's got to be a better way.

    1. Re:End result? by aapold · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That was pretty much my response too... they killed it. Can those things even take being under the far less pressure near the surface water? Once they had it hooked, you think they could have sent a diver down at some intermediary depth to film it...

      I guess this is new territory and they're learning things (like, if you pull a giant squid to the surface, it dies), so I guess I can give them a pass this time. But yeah, there has to be a better way.

      Those eyes are just unnerving, think I read somewhere that they have the largest eyes of any known creature... no idea on how large their brains are, but you'd have to think it is uncharted territory in terms of invertebrates. I'm not with PETA or anything, but I have to wonder what it was thinking as it was hauled up to its death, fighting the entire way...

      --
      "Waste not one watt!" - CZ
    2. Re:End result? by cavefrog · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I'm talking about anti-shark cages (probably reinforced) here, not some fruity chainmail suit.

      Reminds me of those tests where a marine biologist puts a live crab in a jar then lets an octopus have a go at it. It takes only seconds for the octopus to open it and retrieve it's lunch.

      I know a steel cage is an entirely different story, but I'm having fun imagining what a giant squid might be able to do to one of these, and better yet what the diver might be thinking when it tries...

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. idiots by Lehk228 · · Score: 4, Funny

    are they TRYING to awaken Cthulhu?

    --
    Snowden and Manning are heroes.
  11. Video says 3.5 meters by Jtheletter · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Thanks for the video link. Anyone else notice the reporter in the video said the captured squid was only 3.5 meters, not ~7 as the other articles claim? Maybe they were only referring to the body and not body + tentacles? From what you can see in the video it looks a lot closer to only being 11 ft long rather than 22ft. Quick meter-to-foot estimate, go easy on me. ;)

    --
    -- I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. It's not my fault that life sucks so much. --