WATCH: The first-ever footage of the legendary giant squid in its natural habitat

Japanese researchers pursue the mythical creature 2,000 feet under the sea

This fine multi-tentacled creature was spotted 2,067-feet below the surface in the north Pacific Ocean.
(Image credit: YouTube)

Sailors' accounts of the fearsome kraken thrashing around the waters with its arch-nemesis, the sperm whale, have long been the stuff of legend. And the legend was only fueled by the incredible difficulty of glimpsing the multi-tentacled cephalopod alive in its natural deep-sea habitat, where oxygen and light are scarce and the water pressure is deadly.

That's why scientists are excited about new, first-time footage of the giant squid swimming around in the deep ocean. While the remains of monstrous specimens have been collected in museums around the world, it wasn't until 2005 when a team of scientists, led by Tsunemi Kubodera of Japan's National Science Museum, were able to photograph the 26-foot-long monster trawling the ocean depths for food for the first time in recorded history.

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.