For millennia, sailors have shared frightening tales of giant squids. Both in cinema and in older mythology, the Kraken was promoted as the most fearsome of all sea monsters; now, a team of scientists have managed to capture the first-ever footage of a giant squid swimming freely in its deep ocean habitat. Using a unique lighted bait ball that mimicked the bioluminescent animals the giant squid normally preys upon, ocean researcher Dr. Edie Wider and her team managed to catch a living squid without harming it.
Outsmarting the Giant Squid
Cephalopods, including the giant squid, are notoriously intelligent. In order to catch such a creature in pitch black water more than 2,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, Dr. Wider and her team had to resort to sneaky methods. The lure the team came up with was a special “electronic jellyfish” with flashing lights that mimic the distress signal a real jellyfish normally emits when attacked by prey. The giant squid in turn, comes to attack the animal that is preying upon the jellyfish, allowing the jelly to escape as a kind of reward for showing the squid where to find its next meal. A camera captured the entire encounter, proving not just that the giant Kraken is indeed a real animal, but showing viewers its’ incredible intelligence and its’ amazing natural behavior.
In the past, researchers had used submersibles with engines that made noise that may have frightened the squid away. Dr. Wider wanted to develop a stealthy way to capture an active predator on film, instead of merely attracting scavengers, and it’s clear from the footage that was gathered that her optical lure was extremely effective. The team also used smaller squid as bait, which did entice the giant squid to linger near the camera, and which allowed them to get some incredible footage of the animal’s graceful movements as it made its way through the water.
Not only did the giant squid, which is believed to be about 30 feet long, show bits and pieces of its body and tentacles as it made its way through the water around the sphere, it also gave scientists a real start by attacking the camera. Says Wider of the money shot, “The excitement was incredible. It’s just amazing to be able to have a moment like that and realize you’ve done something people have been trying to do for decades...I never, never imagined that I’d get an opportunity like this.”
Most giant squids that have been encountered have been dead animals that have washed up on shore or that have been discovered floating in the ocean. Some that have been brought to the surface have been photographed as well, and all these animals have a pink or reddish hue. The squid Dr. Wider and her team captured on film was a shimmering silver and gold color. Equally amazing are the animal’s eyes, which are about the size of dinner plates.
The footage the team captured aired later on the Discovery Channel. Says Clyde Roper, a squid expert from the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, “If they are monsters, they’re gentle ones. It’s important for people to see this kind of science, seeing live creatures where they actually live.”