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Scientists capture giant squid...on camera

Yup, I saw that one today. It's cool that they finally got a live one on video/picture, even if it was on the small side. Still, it's exciting.
 
Now they know where to approximately find them so hopefully they will see more of them now.
 
I read about this earlier today. Really cool stuff! I've always been really intrigued by giant squids, so I really hope they're on the right track to get footage of the huge ones. In the video clip I saw, the guy was talking about how they can grow to be as big as 18 meters long (26 feet), or rather the height of a 5 story building!

I don't think I want to go near the ocean ever again...
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if its not a hoax, woweewow
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Interesting story but that's a shame it lost a tentacle. And also sucks that that guy caught 17 babies and they all died. That seems like a bit too much "taking of the sea" for experimentation. That's 17 giant squid that never lived to maturity. How about starting with ONE and seeing if you can keep it alive??
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Anyway...they are mysterious creatures for sure. It would be cool to get a live one on film.
 
Sweet. Photos at last! I am familiar with the O'Shea expedition that brought back the 17 baby squid. The thing is, it's nearly impossible to catch 'just one'. They are hatched in swarms of hundreds or thousands. Only a few will survive any amount of time at all, much less make it to maturity. He happened to luck into an area where a very large number of said offspring had gathered to feed.

A newly-hatched giant squid is the size of your little fingernail, or smaller! Squid seem to go for the reproductive strategy of 'quantity rather than quality'. Most die very early in life, it seems. They have no parental care, and have to fend for themselves in an ocean of predators while they are still the size of krill.

17 for the sake of science is not a significant number in terms of overall population. The whole purpose was to try and determine if they could be raised in captivity as other squid have been. But it appears we don't know enough yet about their lifecycle.
 
Ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? 17 in the name of science was too many.
 
Well, we raise a number of other deep sea invertebrates at high pressure successfully. There are lots of primitive crab-like creatures that have similar intolerances to light and low pressure, but we keep them in aquariums just fine. It would be a feat to raise something that big, but they build pressure tanks large enough to test most space equipment so it's certainly doable. It's a shame that stuff had to die, but for an organism that lays tens of thousands of eggs in a single spawning, 17 probably isn't going to be a big problem. We don't have any trouble taking one or two young from a group of mammals, even though a mammal's fecundity is far lower and we're taking a much larger percent of their juvenile population.
~Joe
 
  • #10
Yes Joe, I understand your point however from what I read, it was their intent to determine if this particular species could be raised in captivity as other species of squid had been. Hence my comments that these "creatures live with no light at depths of a mile or deeper". When one takes from the wild in the name of science, one should be prepared to meet the needs of what one is taking. I suspect the costs of building appropriate tanks would be exorbitant and beyond the reach of most. Remember, they "happened to luck into an area where a very large number of said offspring had gathered to feed".  It would appear to me they were not prepared to meet the needs of these creatures yet they took them anyway... in the name of science.  
 
  • #11
"I suspect the costs of building appropriate tanks would be exorbitant and beyond the reach of most."

well we aren't talking about the home hobbyist.
 
  • #12
Of course we aren't talking about a home hobbyist although the end result was probably the same. Dr. O'Shea is a marine biologist of International acclaim. Given he is quoted in the recent past as having made this statement, "we don't know the first thing about this animal, how it behaves," I still question why 17 were harvested.

Regarding this statement, "I suspect the costs of building appropriate tanks would be exorbitant and beyond the reach of most"... perhaps I should have prefaced same. Beyond the reach of most Universities and privately funded research centers. JLAP, I believe the costs to be in the muti millions. Best guess would be around 10-15 million based on some discussions with volunteers at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago as well as a conversation in passing with my husband who is a structural engineer and has worked on large specialty projects who claimed that he wouldn't even begin to speculate on what costs of recreating that type of pressure could end up at to be able to support those life forms. Certainly not chunk change and well out of the league of any home hobbyist I know of.
 
  • #13
I really want one of these critters for my home!  The wife gave approval to dig up the back yard.   So far I'm about 8 1/2 feet down, so I figure that means another 5,271 and 1/2 feet to go before I hit the mile required.  Now, I'm wondering how to line the thing??  Dang!  Another obsession hobby--giant squid!!!  My back is killing me from all that digging.  Well, enough chatter--gotta get back to work!
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  • #14
LMAO

I recommend pool liner they have it for about a buck per square foot at the depot. That costs about 64 000 plus tax. You also need a mile of ladder (probably very expensive).

Remember you have to fill the entire mile of hole with water so if thats (*does some math*) Alot of water. So you should start soon if you plan on finishing filling it this year.

Zac
 
  • #15
and remember ponds need a fence in some areas, its the building code
 
  • #16
hehe. i can imagine someone being killed by a giant squid because there wasn't a fence lol
 
  • #17
You guys really know how to totally ruin a really good rant! No fair turning this thread into something funny.
 
  • #18
LOL!!!! Man you guys are funny! Don`t forget all the non-iodized salt JBL!
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That is cool with the pic. Anybody know where to see the video clip?
 
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