Giant Squid: Japanese Divers Capture Rare Pictures at Sea; Watch the video Estadio

TOKYO A few divers in Japan have found rare images of a Giant squid 2.5 meters long in his habitat.

Earlier this month, Yosuke Tanaka and his wife Miki, who own a Dive Resort Tstyle dive shop in the western Japanese city of Toyooka, were alerted to the squid by a fishing tackle vendor who was spotted in a cove.

On the store’s blog, they report that they were alerted to the squid that was in the area’s waters by a boatman and quickly moved towards the animal.

Divers took their boat to catch up with the creature when it was adrift near a rocky shore and were lucky enough to come face to face with the octopus, which was slow moving and appeared weakened with its skin peeling off.

“There it was. It was a giant squid,” Yosuke Tanaka said Thursday. “We didn’t see the kind of agile movements that many fish and sea creatures usually exhibit,” he said. “Its tentacles and fins were moving very slowly .”

The animal’s size and huge eyes were impressive, and Tanaka said he imagines the force with which the octopus attacks whales, which are among its largest predators.

Giant squid filmed in Japan Photo: Reproduction/AFP

“I could see its tentacles moving. I thought it would be dangerous to be grabbed by them and taken somewhere,” he said.

Giant squid live in many oceans and occasionally wash ashore, but seeing them alive in the wild is a rare occurrence.

“It was very exciting. I don’t think there is anything rarer,” he said. “I’ve heard that not much is known about this creature. I’d appreciate if it helps us learn more.”

What are giant squids?

In the pictures taken by the divers, the giant squid can be seen swimming just below the surface of the water in a spot rich in algae.

A baby giant squid is found dead on a beach in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Adele Grosse/Washington Post

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However, the animal was quite small for its species, which can reach about 13 meters in length. There have been sightings of specimens up to 20 meters long, but these have not been verified, according to Cape Town’s Two Oceans Aquarium.

Scientists are analyzing the remains of a 12 meter long and nearly 200 kilogram giant squid found in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Joe Armao/Portal

According to Tsunemi Kubodera, a researcher at the Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, the animal is likely between 1 and 2 years old in response to NHK. Giant squid can live up to 15 years.

Giant squid inhabit all of Earth’s oceans but are generally found in the North Atlantic, the African coast, New Zealand and Japan. However, although they are huge and geographically widespread, not much is known about them because they are difficult to find.

Their rarity also makes it difficult to know how many giant moons there are. The estimate is based on a study of the stomach of sperm whales, the species’ most important predator. “A study by Clyde Rober and Elisabeth Shea estimates that up to 131 million giant squid are fed by sperm whales each year,” notes Jon Ablett, senior curator of molluscs and Cephalopods at the Natural History Museum in London./AFP and AP