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A pair of scuba divers have captured rare footage of 2.5 meter long giant squid swimming off the coast of Japan. Earlier this month, Yosuke Tanaka and his wife Miki, who run their own diving business in Toyooka city in the Hyogo region, were alerted to the squid by a fishing equipment vendor who had spotted it in a bay.
The couple took their boat out to reach the creature as it coasted near a shoreline.
Yosuke Tanaka told AFP on Thursday: “There it was. It was an enormous squid.
“We didn’t see the kinds of agile movements that many fish and marine creatures normally show.
“Its tentacles and fins were moving very slowly.”
The size of the animal and its huge eyes were striking, and Mr Tanaka said he couldn’t fathom the power this squid could summon to tackle whales, which are among their main predators.
He added: “I could see its tentacles moving.
“I thought it would be dangerous to be grabbed hard by them and taken off somewhere.”
Giant squid are known to live in the waters around Japan, and occasionally wash ashore.
But seeing them alive in the wild remains quite rare.
The squid appeared weak and moved only “very sluggishly,” Mr Tanaka said. Pieces of its skin were peeling off from its trunk.
He said the experience would stick with him.
Mr Tanaka said: “It was very exciting. I think there is nothing rarer than this.”
“I have heard not a lot is known about this creature. I’d be happy if this helps us learn more.”
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