Scientists searching for 'Kraken sea monster' were attacked by giant squid's tentacles

dailystar.co.uk:

giant squid on film for the first time in its natural habitat nearly lost their submersible in the process.While filming a squid in the depths of the ocean in 2019, a group of intrepid explorers got more than they bargained for after the massive animal fought back.

Grabbing the submersible with its giant tentacles, the crew were forced to take evasive action to avoid being dragged down. The massive creature of the deep is thought to have inspired the mythical Kraken, a squid monster that was rumoured to sink ships in the age of discovery.In real life, the enormous animal is thankfully not quite as violent but is still impressive.

The squids, which go by the Latin name Architeuthis dux, can grow up to 14 metres long and make their homes in the deep about 630 meters below the surface.However, for something as big as a double-decker bus, the creature is notoriously camera-shy and for many years scientists have been unable to study them in-depth.In 2012, a breakthrough occurred when a team of Japanese scientists were able to study a junior squid reports Live Science.They realised that one of the reasons the huge squids shy away from the surface is their big eyes which are extremely sensitive to natural light.A study titled ‘Deep-Sea Research’, has since reasoned why squids had been very hard to document.

It states that the animals would flee from the lights of submarines and exploratory vessels long before they arrived. In order to correct this, two successful expeditions in 2012 and 2019 did so with the lights on their submersible dimmed.The study explained: “Many deep-sea species, including squid, have monochromatic visual systems that are adapted to blue [light] and blue bioluminescence rather than long-wavelength.