A Japanese research team has captured more than 500 images of a Giant Squid on camera. The research team was led by Tsunemi Kubodera of the NationalScienceMuseum in Tokyo and the footage was captured approximately 10 miles off the remote island of Chichijima, which is 600 miles southeast of Tokyo.
The footage was actually captured in September of last year, but not released until this past week when an article outlining the expedition was published in this past Wednesday’s issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The researchers had been conducting expeditions for approximately three years before they succeeded in capturing the giant on film.
The scientists used the proven behaviors of Sperm Whales, a well known predator of Giant Squid, to track down the location of where an individual might be. They succeeded at 3,000 feet deep with a baited line and a camera equipped with a strobe firing at 30 second intervals.
Deep sea squids have been captured on camera in the past, but never one of the Giant Squid variety, Architeuthis. The impact of this footage on the scientific world is quite significant as it provides insight into the behavior of these animals. Some scientists thought it would never be done. However, there is still a lot to learn about these elusive creatures of the deep.
