‘20,000 Leagues’ Of Greenpeace: Submarine Attacked By Jumbo Squid
A two-man Greenpeace submarine recently came under attack by a pair of jumbo squids, and the strange incident in the Bearing Sea has been released as a vine.
Echoing the events of the classic 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, the pair descended into the depths in a Dual Deep Worker submarine, according to CNET, when the Humboldt squids attacked. Though the squids in the video are no more than a few feet long, the Humboldt squid can grow to be up to 6.2 feet in mantle length, weighting up to 100 pounds. Nicknamed “jumbo squid” or “red devil,” Humboldt squids are famed for their seeming aggression, turning red when hunting or preparing to attack.
As News.com.au notes, the crew of the submarine shined a light on the squids in an attempt to scare them away, yet the nearest animal continued to whip the submarine with its tentacles. One of the squids spun around and squirted black ink at the submarine before the pair swam off.
Attack of the giant squid http://t.co/vIUh5yt3V2 pic.twitter.com/sPpYFOuBDe — Carlos Gavina (@CGShark) October 13, 2014
The interaction took place in the Bearing sea, which lies between the Russian and Alaskan coastlines. It is unclear when the video was captured, as the accompanying description was limited.
VIDEO: Giant squid goes “attack mode” on a Greenpeace submarine. http://t.co/mKCJGERbGz pic.twitter.com/zYnaUrMICP
— RYOT NEWS (@RYOTnews) October 13, 2014
Some scientists believe that squids aren’t normally aggressive animals, suggesting that bright or flashing lights like those on the Dual Deep Worker submarine might be enough to antagonize them. The squid’s tentacles sport suckers that are lined with tiny, sharp teeth that can be dangerous to divers, making the Greenpeace crew lucky to be protected by the submarine.
Giant squid filmed assaulting and squirting ink at a Greenpeace submarine http://t.co/2Y0lltMKMH pic.twitter.com/LkPlSoJE6R — David Jones (@_dpaj) October 13, 2014
Greenpeace USA posted the vine in honor of Cephalopod Awareness Week, which took place from October 8 – 12, Business Insider notes. While the Humboldt squids are large enough to pose a threat to divers, other species of squid can grow even larger.
In January of 2013, Japanese researchers were able to capture video of a giant squid, measuring approximately 26 feet in length. Researchers made over 100 trips to the area of the North pacific where the squid was filmed, spending more than 400 hours tracking the animal. As The Inquisitr noted, scientists pursued the squid to depths of 900 meters in order to capture the rare footage.
Seemingly unperturbed after the attack, the Humboldt squids swam away unharmed, without damaging the submarine.
[Image: Greenpeace/Vine via The Daily Mail]
