Extremely rare giant squid caught on camera

A giant squid in the water in Japan.
(Image credit: YouTube.com/CNN)

When diver Akinobu Kimura saw a giant squid swimming near the surface of Toyama Bay in central Japan on Christmas Eve, he knew he had to get a closer look.

"My curiosity was way bigger than fear, so I jumped into the water," he told CNN. Giant squid sightings are incredibly rare, but spectators say the 12-foot-long creature (believed to be a juvenile, since squid can grow as large as 43 feet long) swam under boats and hung out in the bay for several hours. The squid, Kimura said, "looked lively," and was spurting ink. Squid are usually found in deep water, and it's not clear why this one was in the bay, but Kimura said he guided it toward the ocean and "it disappeared into the deep sea."

The first observation of a giant squid in its natural habitat took place in the north Pacific in 2004, and much remains unknown about the elusive creature. Watch the video of the Japanese giant squid — and its giant, creepy eyes — below. Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.