This video
image, taken from footage by NHK and Discovery Channel in July 2012 and released
on Monday, shows a giant squid, up to eight meters (26 feet) long, against the
backdrop of dark oceanic depths at a depth of 630 meters (2,067 feet) in the sea
near Ogasawara islands, 1,000km south of Tokyo. - AFP
PHOTO/NHK/NEP / DISCOVERY CHANNELPIC
By SHINGO ITO
TOKYO: Scientists
and broadcasters said Monday they have captured footage of an elusive giant
squid roaming the depths of the Pacific Ocean, showing it in its natural
habitat for the first time ever.
Japan’s
National Science Museum succeeded in filming the deep-sea creature at a depth
of more than half a kilometer (a third of a mile) after teaming up with
Japanese public broadcaster NHK and the US Discovery Channel.
The massive
invertebrate is the stuff of legend, with sightings of a huge ocean-dwelling
beast reported by sailors for centuries.
The creature is
thought to be the genesis of the Nordic legend of Kraken, a sea monster
believed to have attacked ships in waters off Scandinavia over the last
millennium.
Modern-day
scientists on their own Moby Dick-style search used a submersible to descend to
the dark and cold depths of the northern Pacific Ocean, where at around 630
meters (2,066 feet) they managed to film a three-meter specimen.
After around
100 missions, during which they spent 400 hours in the cramped submarine, the
three-man crew tracked the creature from a spot some 15 kilometers (nine miles)
east of Chichi island in the north Pacific.
Museum
researcher Tsunemi Kubodera said they followed the enormous mollusc to a depth
of 900 meters as it swam into the ocean abyss.
NHK showed
footage of the silver-colored creature, which had huge black eyes, as it swam
against the current, holding a bait squid in its arms.
For Kubodera it
was the culmination of a lengthy quest for the beast.
“It was shining
and so beautiful,” Kubodera told AFP.
“I was so
thrilled when I saw it first hand, but I was confident we would because we
rigorously researched the areas we might find it, based on past data.”
Kubodera said
the creature had its two longest arms missing, and estimated it would have been
eight meters long if it had been whole. He gave no explanation for its missing
arms.
He said it was
the first video footage of a live giant squid in its natural habitat—the depths
of the sea where there is little oxygen and the weight of the water above
exerts enormous pressure.
Kubodera, a
squid specialist, also filmed what he says was the first live video footage of
a giant squid in 2006, but only from his boat after it was hooked and brought
up to the surface.
“Researchers
around the world have tried to film giant squid in their natural habitats, but
all attempts were in vain before,” Kubodera said.
“With this
footage we hope to discover more about the life of the species,” he said,
adding that he planned to publish his findings soon.
Kubodera said
the two successful sightings of the squid—in 2012 and 2006—were both in the
same area, some 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, suggesting it could be a major
habitat for the species.
The giant
squid, “Architeuthis” to scientists, is sometimes described as one of the last
mysteries of the ocean, being part of a world so hostile to humans that it has
been little explored.
Researchers say
Architeuthis eats other types of squid and grenadier, a species of fish that
lives in the deep ocean. They say it can grow to be longer than 10 meters.
NHK said it and
the Discovery Channel are scheduled to air special documentaries on the find
later this month. – AFP
No comments:
Post a Comment