How Can We Film Giant Squid?

sharp beak. In short, it's a little disconcerting. Perhaps more disconcerting is the fact that these wild creatures, which have rarely ever been spotted alive, have been popping up in videos in recent years, very much alive and very very large. Before two thousand four, they had only been found as carcasses, washed up on beaches or captured by fishermen. So what's going on under the sea is a rash of giant squid sightings and indication that these sea giants are taking

over the waves. In a word, no, but the sightings do indicate technology is advancing in exciting new ways. We spoke Edith Whittard, PhD uh, the CEO and Senior scientist of Florida's Ocean Research and Conservation Association, Incorporated. She said it hasn't really been a rash of giant squid sightings. There have only been two times that giant squid have

been filmed in the deep sea. Both times the animals were spotted with help from a camera system and an optical lure that wid are developed to help researchers explore the creatures of the deep sea without scaring them away. The camera system is called Medusa. Medusa is unlike any recording device used before because it emits a red light that's invisible to most creatures living in the midnight zone.

That's the expanse of pitch black water about three thousand, three hundred feet or a thousand meters below the ocean surface. Then there's the optical lure and electronic jellyfish that accompanies Medusa down below the waves to help draw creatures towards the camera with an innovative method that takes inspiration from animals natural cues called an e jelly wid are explained. The e jelly image hates the bioluminescent burglar alarm display

of a common deep sea jellyfish. Bioluminescent burglar alarms are like a scream for help using light. Their last ditch effort of prey that are caught in the clutches of a predator to attract the attention of a bigger predator that may attack their attacker and thereby afford them an opportunity for escape. Until just fifteen years ago, the only facts known about giants squid were gathered from their massive

dead bodies, since live ones had never been seen. Then, in two thousand four, the first live images of a giant squid were captured, and the first video of a giant squid emerged thanks to Medusa capturing a specimen swimming off of Japan's Okasawara Archipelago. It wasn't until June of twenty nineteen that another Medusa shot giant squid video came to light, this time of a roughly ten foot long that's three meters young swimmer in US waters around the

e Gulf of Mexico. June twenty nineteen marked the fifth deployment of Medusa on this particular expedition, and when Winter and her team examined the video, they saw undeniable footage of a long, tentacled creature reaching out for the e jelly. It's hard to tell exactly how big it was because it was heading straight towards the camera. All these years of underwater chasing begs the question why are these animals

so camera shy in the first place? Witter said, the giant squid has been elusive because our standard methods of exploration, using platforms with bright lights and noisy thrusters, has been scaring it away. The only reason we even knew giant squid existed is because they happen to float when they die. So dead and dying specimens have been seen in photographed

at the surface. How many other animals are there living in the deep sea that we don't know about because we've been scaring them away and they don't happen to float when they die, A good and perhaps even more disconcerting question. Indeed. Today's episode was written by Michelle Constantonowsky and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production

of I Heeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots of other mysterious topics, visit our home planet how Stuffworks dot com and for more podcasts from my heart Radio is the heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H