Ultra-rare nine-foot squid washes up on Japanese beach

It was unusual for a giant squid to be washed ashore alive, officials say

A giant squid, measuring about 9.8ft, has been sighted on a beach in Japan.

The squid was found stranded at Ugu beach in Obama of Fukui Prefecture, at 10am local time Wednesday in what local authorities described as a rare sighting.

The giant squid was found alive, Japanese newspaper Mainichi reported, citing Obama Municipal Government.

“It is unusual for a giant squid to be washed ashore alive,” an official told the newspaper.

The video of the massive squid showed the cephalopod swimming in shallow waters on the beach as two officials took measurements.

The squid would be transported to Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in the prefectural city of Sakai.

Squids of this length are deep sea-dwelling creatures. A more elusive squid, measuring 24ft was caught by scientists at Japan’s National Science Museum and brought to the surface in 2006, according to National Geographic. The first images of that female squid were first taken in 2004.

The squid would be transported to Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in the prefectural city of Sakai (Mainichi)

According to Science Focus, the size of the largest well-preserved individual has been scientifically recorded to be measuring 39 to 40 feet. However, the sighting of these creatures is very unusual.

In June 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released rare footage of a juvenile giant squid that was believed to be about 10 to 12ft long. The 28-second video showed the squid moving towards the camera in the Gulf of Mexico.

The squid appeared to wrap its long tentacles around NOAA’s cameras before swiftly swimming away.

“The giant squid is large and certainly unusual from our human perspective, but if the video shows anything of the animal’s character, it shows an animal surprised by its mistake, backing off after striking at something that at first must have seemed appealing but was obviously not food,” the researchers said.