Alison Paulus, founder of Cape Town wildlife conservation organization Volunteer and Discover, “It was incredible to see. Its body was about 2.2 meters and its arms 3.5 meters long,” he says. “
Giant squids live at ocean depths between 300 and 1,000 m and rarely come to the sea surface. For centuries, scientists have learned about these creatures. The first photographs of a living giant squid were not taken until 2004.
It is rare to see a giant squid off the coast of South Africa, according to National Geographic. Devon Bowen, manager of the Two Oceans Aquarium in Town, said another adult specimen that washed up in the same area in 1992 was just over 9 meters long
This giant Squid washed up on the Beach at Kommetjie during the night .. Thats CapeTown for you pic.twitter.com/73szX89XFF
— MatheWegqirha (@NcubukeziM) April 30, 2022
It is thought that the squid may have washed up on shore after being struck by a boat. We could see a long rift, which we saw,” he said. Research by wildlife experts revealed that the animal was a female. “I’d say it was probably hit by a ship while on the sea surface,” said wildlife expert Jon Friedman.
According to Friedman, the squid was about two years old when it died. Giant squids can live up to five years and reach 13 meters in length.
When SPCA officials arrived on the scene, local fishermen had removed the squid’s eyes and tentacles. Authorities sent some tissue samples to the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town for DNA analysis.
6446
