The giant squid

Moby Dick

Over the past decade or so 3 giant squid have washed up on the shores of Tasmania in late July within days of each other. What’s going on? Do they die after breeding as some scientists think? Or is there a regular giant squid fight-out and some years the loser dies?

National Geographic also have a story online, it has some great photos:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/07/0726_020726_LPsquid.html

Update from Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG)

The giant squid found on July 10 on Tasmania’s west coast is on ice at the
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) Research and Collection facility.

It was located on Ocean Beach near Strahan last Tuesday night. It is
believed to be about 7 metres long and weighing more than 150 kilograms.

TMAG staff travelled to the west coast to measure the squid and note
external features. They then transported the giant squid on a whale rescue
trailer to Hobart.

Tissue samples were taken upon the squid’s arrival in Hobart and the squid
was then placed in a large storage freezer.

TMAG Senior curator Genefor Walker-Smith is currently finding out more
information about the preservation of the giant squid.

She is also liasing with other scientists who may or not require frozen
tissue samples.

Dr Walker-Smith says it is hard to determine the cause of death because
internal organs are missing. She says ” we don’t know how old it is and we
are only guessing how it might have died”.

On the day it was brought to TMAG, fresh tissue samples were taken. One
researcher hopes to sequence the DNA of the specimen using tissue taken.
Dr Walker-Smith says it is an excellent specimen for scientific research –
but the fact it was found in sections and minus the two long feeding
tentacles, means it may not be the best specimen to put on display.

There has been a lot of interest in the giant squid from across Australia
and around the world. The finding of a giant squid is a rare event. TMAG
curators were kept busy for several days answering media questions, and
stories and images of the giant squid washed up on the west coast Tasmanian
beach appeared in the USA, the UK, New Zealand, China and Vietnam to name
just a few different countries.