The Kraken wakes: first images of giant squid filmed in deep ocean

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TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese-led team of scientists has captured on film the world's first live images of a giant squid, journeying to the depths of the ocean in search of the mysterious creature thought to have inspired the myth of the "kraken", a tentacled monster.

The images of the silvery, three-metre (10 feet) long cephalopod, looming out of the darkness nearly 1 km below the surface, were taken last July near the Ogasawara islands, 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tokyo.

Though the beast was small by giant squid standards - the largest ever caught stretched 18 metres long, tentacles and all - filming it secretly in its natural habitat was a key step towards understanding the animal, researchers said.

"Many people have tried to capture an image of a giant squid alive in its natural habitat, whether researchers or film crews. But they all failed," said Tsunemi Kubodera, a zoologist at Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science, who led the team.

"These are the first ever images of a real live giant squid," Kubodera said of the footage, shot by Japanese national broadcaster NHK and the Discovery Channel.

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The key to their success, said Kubodera, was a small submersible rigged with lights invisible to both human and cephalopod eyes.

He, a cameraman and the submersible's pilot drifted silently down to 630 metres and released a one-metre-long squid as bait. In all, they descended around 100 times.

"If you try and approach making a load of noise, using a bright white light, then the squid won't come anywhere near you. That was our basic thinking," Kubodera said.

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"So we sat there in the pitch black, using a near-infrared light invisible even to the human eye, waiting for the giant squid to approach."

As the squid neared they began to film, following it into the depths to around 900 metres.

"I've seen a lot of giant squid specimens in my time, but mainly those hauled out of the ocean. This was the first time for me to see with my own eyes a giant squid swimming," he said. "It was stunning, I couldn't have dreamt that it would be so beautiful. It was such a wonderful creature."

Until recently, little was known about the creature believed to be the real face of the mythical kraken, a sea-monster blamed by sailors for sinking ships off Norway in the 18th century.

But for Kubodera, the animal held no such terror.

"A giant squid essentially lives a solitary existence, swimming about all alone in the deep sea. It doesn't live in a group," he said. "So when I saw it, well, it looked to me like it was rather lonely."

(Reporting by Ruairidh Villar; Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

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The Kraken wakes: first images of giant squid taken into the depths of the ocean

TOKYO (Reuters)-a Japanese team of scientists has captured on film, the first live images of the world of a giant squid, traveling to the depths of the ocean in search of the mysterious creature thought that inspired the myth of "kraken", a sprawling Monster.

Images of silvery, cephalopod along three meters (10 feet), looming darkness almost 1 km below the surface, were taken last July near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) South of Tokyo.

Although the beast was tiny by the standards of giant squid-the biggest ever caught stretched 18 meters long, tentacles and all-filming secretly in his natural habitat was an important step towards the understanding of the animal, the researchers said.

"Many people have sought to capture an image of a live giant squid in its natural habitat, if researchers or film crews. But all have failed, "said Tsunemi Kubodera, a zoologist at the National Museum of nature and science, of Japan, who led the team.

"These are the first ever images of a real live giant squid," Kubodera said of the movie, shot by Japanese national broadcaster NHK and Discovery Channel.

[Presentation: smaller animals on the planet]

The key to their success, said Kubodera, was a small submarine rigged with light invisible to human eyes, and cephalopods.

He, a cameraman and submersible pilot glided noiselessly up to 630 meters and released a one-meter long squid as bait. In all, they descended to about 100 times.

"If you try to approach making a load noise, using a white light, so the Squid doesn't come anywhere near you. That was our basic thinking, "said Kubodera.

[Slideshow: NatGeo contest winners 2012 photos]

"So we sat there in the pitch black, using a near-infrared light invisible to the human eye, waiting for the giant squid to the approach."

While approaching the squid began to film followed in depth to about 900 meters.

"I saw a lot of specimens of giant squid in my time, but especially those brought from the ocean. This was the first time for me to see with my own eyes a giant squid swim, "he said. "It was amazing, I couldn't have I dreamt it would be so nice. It was a wonderful creature. "

Until recently, little was known about the creature believed to be the true face of the kraken, a legendary sea monster, accused by sailors for the ship sinking off Norway in the 18th century.

But for the animal not Kubodera held no such terror.

"A giant squid essentially lives a solitary existence, swimming on all alone in the deep sea. He doesn't live in a group, "he said. "So when I saw it, well, it seemed to me it was quite lonely."

(Reporting by Paola Villar; Written by Elaine Lies; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

View the original article here