It's tentacular!

Japanese marine biologists are reporting today the first ever pictures of the elusive giant squid, live in the wild.

They discovered the giant by following packs of sperm whales, which are known to feed on the giant squid. They created a float system with a long line from which they suspended a robotic camera and strobe light. The camera looked downward at hooks baited with small squid and took pictures every 30 seconds. A bag of mashed shrimps acted as an odor lure. The researchers set up a number of such rigs near the Bonin Islands.

On Sept. 30 of last year, a squid attacked the lowest bait on a rig that was positioned about 1,000 feet above the seafloor. Giant squid have eight short arms and two long tentacles. During the attack, the squid wrapped its two long tentacles like a ball around the bait, the researchers report. One tentacle was caught, and the creature moved violently for four hours to break free. After 4 hours and 13 minutes of struggle, the animal tore away, leaving the tentacle behind.

Pictures at the link. Deep Sea News has more, plus news of the recovery of the first intact example of the even bigger colossal squid, which packs nasty jagged hooks on its tentacles. All that's left to find now is the queen mother, Squidzilla.