Giant Squid Filmed In Natural Habitat For the First Time

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Giant Squid Filmed In Natural Habitat For the First Time

Posted by samzenpus on Monday January 7, 2013 @06:38AM from the I-crush-everything dept.

First time accepted submitter Edgewood_Dirk writes that a giant squid has been filmed in its natural habitat for the first time. "Scientists and broadcasters have captured footage of an elusive giant squid, up to eight meters (26 feet) long that roams the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Japan's National Science Museum succeeded in filming the deep-sea creature in its natural habitat for the first time, working with Japanese public broadcaster NHK and the U.S. Discovery Channel. The massive invertebrate is the stuff of legend, with sightings of a huge ocean-dwelling beast reported by sailors for centuries.'" The first live footage of a giant squid was captured in 2006 by Japan's National Science Museum researcher, Tsunemi Kubodera, after it was hooked and brought to the surface.

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Get A Good Look by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-07 06:46 · Score: 5, Funny

Before they catch it and eat it.
1. Re:Get A Good Look by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-07 08:21 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  ...or before they have sex with it.
No Video at the link by oic0 · 2013-01-07 06:46 · Score: 2

I clicked hoping to some video of the thing :(
1. Re:No Video at the link by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-07 06:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  the video is more elusive than the squid
2. Re:No Video at the link by Internal+Modem · 2013-01-07 07:17 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Maybe someone can find a better version than this NHK broadcast story on YouTube?
3. Re:No Video at the link by Arkham · 2013-01-07 08:06 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I have it on my to-do list to record it. The live footage in full quality will air on Discovery Channel on Sun. January 27th on a show called "Monster Squid: The Giant is Real". I suspect until then it will be hard to find good quality footage.
  
  --
  - Vincit qui patitur.
The question that's itching to be asked.. by Antony+T+Curtis · 2013-01-07 06:52 · Score: 2, Funny

The question that people must be itching to ask the Japanese Researchers: How does it taste?

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1. Re:The question that's itching to be asked.. by MaskedSlacker · 2013-01-07 07:46 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Are you sure their first impulse was to EAT it? I mean...it's Japan.
2. Re:The question that's itching to be asked.. by TheCarp · 2013-01-07 08:06 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  This question has already been answered....and the answer is...bad...
  From wiki: ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid )
  
  Giant squid and some other large squid species maintain neutral buoyancy in seawater through an ammonium chloride solution which is found throughout their bodies and is lighter than seawater. This differs from the method of flotation used by most fish, which involves a gas-filled swim bladder. The solution tastes somewhat like salmiakki[citation needed] and makes giant squid unattractive for general human consumption.
  
  --
  "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
3. Re:The question that's itching to be asked.. by pluther · 2013-01-07 08:19 · Score: 2
  
  Pretty horrible, most likely.
  From what I've heard, giant squids have large amounts of ammonia in their bloodstreams. It acts as a natural anti-freeze (the water is damn cold deep in the Pacific, it's only the immense pressure that keeps it from freezing).
  The ammonia would permeate the whole thing, completely ruining the taste.
  
  --
  If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
4. Re:The question that's itching to be asked.. by the+gnat · 2013-01-07 08:21 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Are you sure their first impulse was to EAT it? I mean...it's Japan.
  Japan is widely reviled for using its permitted "research whaling" activities as a cover for what essentially amounts to hunting for food. They kill whales (mostly minke, I think, which are at least fairly common) in the hundreds or thousands every year, I believe in the Antarctic, supposedly for research purposes, but since there is no prohibition on using the leftovers after the "research" is done, the meat ends up being sold in Japan. The problem is that most Japanese don't even know what whale meat tastes like, and from what I've read it's not very appealing, so it's not like there's any wide demand for the product - in fact the government has tried to promote its consumption to gain support for their policies. Obviously certain interests have great interest in the government, but it's never been clear to me whether this was a "protect our livelihoods" thing, or traditionalists and reactionaries trying to preserve a custom in the face of Western imperialism. (There's a lot of this in the US and Canada too, but it's the Indian tribes, not the central governments. Norway is one of the few other governments that pushes the practice, and you can buy whale meat there too.)
  The Japanese are also notorious for their dolphin killing - there was a documentary called The Cove from a few years ago that captured the whole mess on film.
5. Re:The question that's itching to be asked.. by GodfatherofSoul · 2013-01-07 08:33 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  WHOOSH! (google "hentai" my friend)
  
  --
  I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
6. Re:The question that's itching to be asked.. by lengau · 2013-01-08 05:16 · Score: 2
  
  Wouldn't that be the contrapositive? The inverse would be that if you don't tell someone to Google "hentai", you're automatically their friend.
  
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I guess 'Giant' is relative by markg11cdn · 2013-01-07 06:53 · Score: 2

From the article :

Modern-day scientists on their own Moby Dick-style search used a submersible to get them into the dark and cold depths of the northern Pacific Ocean, where at around 630 meters they managed to film a three-meter specimen.
Though it also says that the squid was missing it's two longest arms and would have been eight meters long if it was whole...
With all the problems we have in the world by circletimessquare · 2013-01-07 06:53 · Score: 4, Funny

Someone thought it was a good idea to go and mess with the children of Cthulhu?
Yes, Cthulhu sleeps, but maybe not for long now.

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intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
1. Re:With all the problems we have in the world by MaskedSlacker · 2013-01-07 07:49 · Score: 2
  
  It's because they read the date backwards.
Air dates (for those asking where the vid is) by Anubis+IV · 2013-01-07 07:04 · Score: 5, Informative

It appears that we'll have to wait for the shows to air before we'll see the footage.
January 27th on Discovery Channel for most of us.
January 13th on NHK if you're in Japan.
1. Re:Air dates (for those asking where the vid is) by hughJ · 2013-01-07 07:10 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It'll probably be 10 seconds of actual video which is then chopped up, played in varying arrangements and speeds, with a healthy dose of scary/ominous music, and then be inter-cut by experts that speak only in 4-5 second chunks, and then commercial breaks of 4 minutes trying to sell me a Honda. A wonderful way to spend an hour.
2. Re:Air dates (for those asking where the vid is) by webmistressrachel · 2013-01-07 10:14 · Score: 2
  
  Hypnotoad would be better than Coronation Street and Eastenders. It violates human rights conventions, but it looks so much more interesting on the screen. And it's cheaper than all those wax dummies we use now. They are wax dummies aren't they? I mean, they can't be people. Can they?
  
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Re:wtf? by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2013-01-07 07:32 · Score: 4, Funny

So what you're saying is RELEASE THE KRAKEN VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!! Right? Oblig filter error
Bah! This thing can't really exist... by petergriffinismyhero · 2013-01-07 07:33 · Score: 2

there's no Pokemon card for it!
Discovery.com teasers by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2013-01-07 07:44 · Score: 3, Funny

TFA's suggestions for what "YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE" sound like juicy reading: "Pop Star Claims Sex With Ghost." "Curiosity: The Orgasm Gap." "Shrunken Head DNA Proves Horrific Folklore True." Now that's internets you can wrap fish in!
1. Re:Discovery.com teasers by c0lo · 2013-01-07 07:50 · Score: 2
  
  TFA's suggestions for what "YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE" sound like juicy reading: "Pop Star Claims Sex With Ghost." "Curiosity: The Orgasm Gap." "Shrunken Head DNA Proves Horrific Folklore True." Now that's internets you can wrap fish in!
  Wha...? I'm not seeing them!?
  Aah... it may be the tracking cookies on your browser that bring those suggestions.
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
Misread the title... by CmdrPorno · 2013-01-07 08:23 · Score: 3, Funny

I thought it said "Geek Squad Filmed in Natural Habitat for the First Time."

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The decline of Discovery Channel. by MaWeiTao · 2013-01-07 08:38 · Score: 3

Honestly, I'm surprised that Discovery Channel is still involved with projects like these as they appear to be headed on the same path as TLC (The Learning Channel, talk about an oxymoron). They seem to be firmly ensconced in reality television, what with quality content like Property Wars, Moonshiners and Amish Mafia. I predict this giant squid footage is going to be presented in a heavy-handed manner where it's all going to feel like we're watching footage of the Loch Ness monster. A legitimate topic is going to be presented like it's pseudo-science.
Clearly, management has decided they weren't making enough money by going the educational route. So they're trying to appeal to a dumber demographic who's less likely to be analytical about the advertising they're exposed to and more likely to spend money carelessly. This is my fear with the government withdrawing support for public television. It's only a matter of time before they devolve into the same sort of crap.
1. Re:The decline of Discovery Channel. by Jonner · 2013-01-07 11:00 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  They're still government properties, their frequencies, brands, copyrights and studios belong to the taxpayers, who paid to develop all of it. They'll be on the block soon, just like many municipal water utilities and public power utilities already are. More of the neo-liberal hogwash about how private industry is always more 'efficient' somehow will be used as the justification, or maybe "deficit reduction".
  You are dead wrong. According to PBS themselves, they are not and never have been part of any government:
  
  PBS is a private, nonprofit corporation, founded in 1969, whose members are America’s public TV stations -- noncommercial, educational licensees that operate more than 350 PBS member stations and serve all 50 states, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.
  .
  NPR is a "privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization."
  Both organizations get a significant minority of funding from the Federal government-funded Corporation For Public Broadcasting but neither NPR nor PBS is owned by the Federal government any more than the multitude of private organizations which receive some Federal funding. They probably wouldn't exist today if they hadn't been funded by the CPB and if the CPB stopped funding them altogether, they would suffer greatly. However, no part of the Federal government can sell either PBS or NPR and even if all Federal funding were cut off, they'd still have a chance of surviving on their other sources of funding.