CEPHALOPOD ATTACKS
The kraken is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear off the coasts of Norway.
Kraken,the subject of sailors’ superstitions and mythos, was first described in the modern age at the turn of the 18th century, in a travelogue by Francesco Negri in 1700.
This description was followed in 1734 by an account from Dano-Norwegian missionary and explorer Hans Egede, who described the kraken in detail and equated it with the hafgufa of medieval lore.
However, the first description of the creature is usually credited to the Norwegian bishop, Pontoppidan (1753).
Pontoppidan was the first to describe the kraken as an octopus (polypus) of tremendous size,and wrote that it had a reputation for pulling down ships.
The French malacologist, Denys-Montfort, of the 19th century is also known for his pioneering inquiries into the existence of gigantic octopuses.
The Colossal Squid
The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is part of the family Cranchiidae.
It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass.It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis and is known from only a small number of specimens.
The species is confirmed to reach a mass of at least 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), though the largest specimens—known only from beaks found in sperm whale stomachs—may perhaps weigh as much as 600–700 kilograms (1,300–1,500 lb),making it the largest known invertebrate. Maximum total length has been estimated at 10–14 metres (33–46 ft).The colossal squid has the largest eyes of any known creature ever to exist.
The Giant Squid
The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the familyArchiteuthidae.
It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around 12–13 m (39–43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males, from the posterior fins to the tip of the two long tentacles (longer than the colossal squid at an estimated 9–10 m (30–33 ft),but substantially lighter, due to the tentacles making up most of the length).
The mantle of the giant squid is about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long (more for females, less for males), and the length of the squid excluding its tentacles (but including head and arms) rarely exceeds 5 m (16 ft).
Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.
The Giant Pacific Octopus
The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genusEnteroctopus.
Its spatial distribution includes the coastal North Pacific, along Mexico (Baja California), The United States (California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska), Canada (British Columbia), Russia, Eastern China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula.
It can be found from the intertidal zone down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and is best adapted to cold, oxygen-rich water. It is the largest octopus species, based on a scientific record of a 71-kg (156-lb) individual weighed live.
Cephalopod Attacks
Cephalopod attacks on humans have been reported since ancient times. A significant portion of these attacks are questionable or unverifiable tabloid stories. Cephalopods are members of the class Cephalopoda, which includes all squid, octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. Some members of the group are capable of causing injury or death to humans.
- The French ship Ville de Paris participated in the American War of Independence. She sailed in the company of nine other ships when she was attacked by huge giant squids and dragged down into the deep. However, other sources claim the ship sank in a storm in 1782.
- Based on other sources, Hungarian traveler Dr. Endre Jékely tells several of the above stories: On 26 October 1873, 3 men were fishing in the Belle Isle (Newfoundland and Labrador). They were attacked by a huge giant squid, but one of the fishermen cut off one of the squid’s arms. Based on this, the length of the animal was subsequently estimated at 14 meters (46 ft) on the shore.
- Sailors cleaning a ship near St. Ilona Island and Cape Nigra were attacked by a giant squid; two were pulled into the deep, and a third later died from injuries sustained during the attack. One of the squid’s arms, severed during the attack, was 7.5 meters (25 ft) in length; the full arm was estimated to be 10 meters (33 ft). Based on this, the entire animal could have been much larger.
- In 1873, a fishing boat in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, was attacked by a giant squid. Numerous letters about the incident stated a severed tentacle was recovered.
- In 1874, a report appeared in an Indian newspaper stating that on 10 May of the current year, a ship called the Strathowen was leaving Colombo for Madras through the Bay of Bengal. In the distance, a small sailboat appeared, to which a huge crowd swam with whipping movements, and then climbed on it—it was a giant squid or giant octopus. The small ship soon capsized and then sank. The crew of the small boat got into the water, but they were picked up by the crew of the Strathowen. Its captain, James Flowyd, reported that the small ship was called Pearl, weighing 140 tonnes (150 short tons).They claim they themselves shot the squid floating in silence, which made him furious and climbed onto the ship. Two sailors died in the squid arms, and a third disappeared (perhaps drowned). Five people escaped the Pearl. The squid body was said to be at least as thick as the small ship, with arms thick as wood.
- In the 1930s, Norwegian tanker Brunswick reported having been attacked by a giant squid in the South Pacific between Hawaii and Samoa. The animal tried unsuccessfully to grip the ship with its tentacles before being killed by the propellers. The story was validated by Commander Arne Groenningsaeter of the Royal Norwegian Navy, stating that the ship had not one, but three encounters with giant squids between 1930 and 1933.
- A giant squid allegedly attacked a raft with survivors from the Britannia in 1941, which had been sunk in the South Atlantic. One of the men was dragged away by the squid, and another, Lieutenant Raymond Edmund Grimani Cox, managed to narrowly escape the same fate, though suffering tentacle sucker wounds. The chronicle of the survivors was first told in 1941 by the London Illustrated News, which stated that, according to the account given them by Cox, a survivor first had his legs bitten off by a shark and then was devoured by a giant manta, but in 1956, Cox himself contacted writer Frank W. Lane to tell his story.They required marine naturalist John Cloudsley-Thompson to examine Cox’s scars at Birkbeck College, and the former further validated the story, assuring the marks, of 1-1/4 inches in size, belonged to a 23-feet long squid. The story has been called the only substantiated report of a giant squid killing humans. However, other authors have called it into question, considering it an urban legend.
- In 1978, the USS Stein was apparently attacked by a giant squid. The ship’s “NOFOUL” rubber coating was damaged with multiple cuts containing evidence of claws found in squid tentacles.
- In 1989, Philippine fishermen rescued 12 survivors clinging to an overturned boat. They allege that a giant octopus or a giant squid turned the boat upside down, but did not attack them afterwards. Yet the incident had one fatal outcome: a 12-week-old boy drowned.
- In 2003, the crew of a yacht competing to win the round-the-world Jules Verne Trophy reported being attacked by a giant squid several hours after departing from Brittany, France. The squid purportedly latched onto the ship and blocked the rudder with two tentacles. Olivier de Kersauson (captain of the yacht) then stopped the boat, causing the squid to lose interest. “We didn’t have anything to scare off this beast, so I don’t know what we would have done if it hadn’t let go”, Kersauson said.
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