Amazing! Rare Giant Squid Caught on Film in Japan

Spectators on a pier in Toyama Bay in central Japan were treated to a rare sighting of a giant squid, also known as an Architeuthis squid.

And even better: The sighting was caught on video by a submersible camera, making it the third time in history that someone has filmed a giant squid.

Witnesses say the squid was more than 12 feet long. One brave local jumped into the water with the squid and helped guide it to safety. “My curiosity was way bigger than fear, so I jumped into the water and [got] close to it,” Akinobu Kimura, owner of Diving Shop Kaiyu, told CNN.

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The giant squid (Architeuthis sp.) has been the focus of myths and legends for more than two thousand years due to its extremely elusive nature. (Photo: Science Photo Library/Corbis)

“This squid was not damaged and looked lively, spurting ink and trying to entangle his tentacles around me,” said Kimura. “I guided the squid toward to [sic] the ocean, several hundred meters from the area it was found in, and it disappeared into the deep sea.”

For many years, giant squids were thought to be mythological creatures, and inspired the legend of the Kraken sea monster, which appeared in a poem by Alfred Tennyson.

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