December 22, 2006
Architeuthis redux
Last year, a team of Japanese researchers took the first still photographs of the elusive giant squid. The photos were violent, blurry, and evocative. For those of us who had been waiting at our computers for the event, it was the perfect first contact between the modern world and that storied beast.
But that moment could not last. Last month, the same team caught a live giant squid, and filmed her death throes as they struggled to bring her aboard. Today, that video hit the web. It's a sad second encounter, and I link it reluctantly; friends of the sea will find these images disturbing.
For me at least, the giant squid represented the planet's diminishing store of unknowns. In a world where everything is accessible immediately, where no event goes un-flickr'd, the giant squid managed to stay under the sonar. And I think that's why so many people were drawn to it. But now it is here, pulled violently from the deep; thrashing and spitting in its horrible, lobster-red glory.
Thankfully, there are more. The scientists (who, let's be honest, are only doing what scientists do) said: "Judging by the number of whales that feed on them, there may be many more giant squid than previously thought." I take some comfort in that. There's a good chance that next time they will get us.
