Living Giant Squid Makes a Rare Appearance on Japan’s Shores

We know there are some truly bizarre denizens of the deep. Sea creatures often look right out of a horror movie when we get to see them up close. But thankfully, the most eerie of sea creatures often tend to keep away from areas normal humans can go. But every so often, one comes out to say hello. A living giant squid recently washed up on the shores of a Japanese beach.

As mentioned, creatures like the giant squid tend to stay in deep parts of the ocean. “It is unusual for a giant squid to be washed ashore alive,” an official noted to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi, according to the  Independent. The implication, of course, is that the creature would more normally wash up on shore after it passed and could no longer control its movements. And, indeed, for a long time, we only knew about these enormous animals through dead specimens washed ashore. It was only in 2001 that we first glimpsed a living giant squid. And we’ve only seen them sporadically since.

But this giant squid appears alive and well.  According to the publications, the animal measures approximately 9.8ft. In giant squid terms, this one is a small fry. According to Britannica, some can exceed 59 feet in total. But in human terms, seeing a nearly 10-foot squid while trying to soak in the sun definitely causes some curiosity and/or alarm.

But honestly, this giant squid seems very relaxed. It doesn’t seem like it feels very worried about having taken a wrong turn at all. And luckily, it will be well taken care of. The cephalopod heads to Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in the prefectural city of Sakai. And hopefully, it can continue to live its very best life at the aquarium. We wish it all the best.