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Giant Squid Caught Near Japan
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.'"
"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...
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?
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.
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?
You can see the video linked on CNN's article (after an ad of course):
s quid.ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/12/22/giant.
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
are they TRYING to awaken Cthulhu?
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
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)
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
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?