Giant Squid Live!

A team of Japanese researchers had successfully filmed a live giant squid in the waters of Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo. The female squid measured 24ft. long and still not fully grown. The scientists, lead by Tsunemi Kubodera of the National Science Museum, said it was relatively small in terms of giant squid standards. "The longest on record is 60 feet," Kubodera said. (O di ba may kung beauty pageant ito ng mga giant squid di siya mananalo dahil bansot siya. Shyet.)

According to this report by the Associated Press, giant squid (genus Architeuthis) are the "world's largest invertebrates. Because they live in the depths of the ocean, they have long been wrapped in mystery and embellished in the folklore of sea monsters, appearing in ancient Greek myths." The giant squid is perhaps related to the myth of the Kraken, or the many-armed sea monster.

The Japanese team's video is said to be the first. There weren't too many sightings of these giant squid, although its existence is accepted in the scientific community. The researchers also said that the giant squid aren't really going to be extinct, just hard to document since they live really far from the sea surface. But this particular squid they got by following a sperm whale. The report from Washington Post also said that by finding an area where whales fed, he believed he could find the animals. He also said that, judging by the number of whales that feed on them, there may be many more giant squid than previously thought. Here's a photo of a sperm whale fighting off a giant squid:



The news of the squid's capture (and eventual death) brought back memories of reading Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." And since it really just had to be Japanese, it made me think of Godzilla or even Shaider. Or the Biomen. Anything with big monsters fighting robots or boys in huge flying mechanical parts.

You can also read more about giant squid sightings here.