Divers spot strange giant squid off the coast of Japan
Two Japanese divers stumble across a rare eight-foot specimen of a giant squid very close to the surface, in an apparently deteriorated state.
The Japanese Yosuke Tanaka and his wife Miki were diving in the city of Toyooka when they came across a eight-foot-long giant squid that was swimming near the surface, according to sciencealert. At the beginning of the month, the couple, who run a diving business, were warned that an animal of these characteristics was prowling the area, near the coast.
For that reason, the two divers decided to take a boat and diving equipment to find the animal, which they found while it moved in a somewhat strange way. “We didn’t see the kinds of agile movements that many fish and marine creatures normally show. Its tentacles and fins were moving very slowly” explained the Japanese.
Despite the fascination that both felt with finding such a creature, Yosuke claimed to be afraid of the size of the squid and of being so close to it: “I could see its tentacles moving. I thought it would be dangerous to be grabbed hard by them and taken off somewhere,” he said. “We swam together and took photos. I was impressed that they were within arm’s reach, but their eyes were so big I was scared,” the diver explained.
“In this area, you can catch a large squid called red squid, which is about 1 meter long, but when I saw the long body and big eyes, I thought it was definitely a giant squid. I was able to see a live giant squid. I'm happy," Yosuke declared.
The squid swam out to sea again
According to the witness, the squid seemed weak and was moving “very slowly”. In addition, the appearance was somewhat strange, with parts of the body that were peeling off. Giant squids are known to live in waters near Japan and occasionally wash up on shore, but seeing them alive in the wild remains rare.
“It was very exciting. I think there’s nothing weirder than this,” Yosuke said. “I heard that not much is known about this creature. I would be happy if this helps us learn more”. According to the Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the squid swam out to sea again after about 30 minutes.