Live 3-meter giant squid washes up on a beach in Japan
A live giant squid has drawn a great deal of attention from local residents and scientists, because living specimens of this species are extremely rare.
The rare squid will be moved to an aquarium. (Photo: Mainichi)
Beachgoers were stunned to come across a live giant squid measuring nearly 3 meters long. They found the animal stranded on Ugu beach in the city of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, at 10 a.m. local time on April 21.
The squid was still alive, according to Obama city officials. One official said it is very rare for a giant squid to wash up on a beach alive. The Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in the city of Sakai is the cephalopod's new home.
Beachgoers in South Africa came across a giant squid washed up on the sand in 2020. Scientists placed it in a freezer to keep it safely preserved for dissection and closer study. Giant squid are typically heavier than a baby elephant and more than twice the size of an adult man.
Growing up to 13 meters long, giant squid are among the largest invertebrates on Earth. But their enormous size does not make them any easier to spot, because they live at depths of more than 400 meters. Their dinner-plate-sized eyes, among the largest of any living creature, let them see in the pitch-dark water. This means giant squid may be able to see vehicles and remotely operated submersibles from more than a kilometer away. Researchers had never encountered a live giant squid before 2002, and the animal was first filmed in 2006.
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