A giant squid stunned beachgoers one morning when it washed up on shore in Japan. The near 10ft-long animal was noticed by a nearby resident on Ugu beach in Obama, Fukui Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan coast.
According to the Obama Municipal Government, the squid was still alive when it was found, which is quite unusual for this type of squid. Giant squid of this size can only be found in the deep sea.
The animal was transported to Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in the prefectural city of Sakai.
It’s only within the last two decades that giant squids have been researched more thoroughly. In 2004, researchers in Japan took the first photos of a live giant squid back. Then, in 2006, scientists from Japan’s National Science Museum were able to catch and bring to the surface a 24-foot female giant squid. At the time, National Geographic said that the largest giant squid to be measured was 59 feet long and weighed almost one ton.
These deep-sea creatures have also been found in other parts of the world. In 2020, an extremely rare bigfin squid was spotted in Australian waters, nearly two kilometres underwater. It was found during underwater surveys being taken in the Great Australian Bight.
Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220420/p2a/00m/0li/022000c