Hey guys, there's this giant squid some NZ scientists are thawing up so that they can examine it.

The best part - they're streaming live video, so we can check it out too!

Colossal Squid

The links to the webcast are towards the bottom of the page

One of the scientist said that it'll take another 2-3 hrs to thaw

oooh.... it looks almost alive floating about in that tank

I took a still from the webcast:

wow, cool and gross!

hehehe I captured the cast

oops.... some technical difficulties there...

Ok, there's stuff happening now! I think it's thawed and they're moving it around and digging into it

Okay, back to thawing

Oooh....Chilli and garlic squid...... Yummy....

hahaha everyone keeps saying that!!

I don't think I'll be eating any form of calamari for a while.... I'm getting too attached to this one that's just floating there

I really wish it were alive

yep will do a great barby with that...

eeeeee!! Stoppit!

just replace the water they have it in with lemon juice, a few herbs, oignons (about 10 kgs) and you're good

maybe a bit of wine...

HAHAHAHAHA Marinade while thawing.... terrible

*shaking head @ pierre*

Time to run out for a coffee while things are quite on the squid end

yummy

Although that does look soooo yummy!

That thawing liquid does look a bit like lemon juice!

It does! That's what I said to Pierre too!

Oh! They're now measuring it

Length ~ 4.21 metres

(I'm guessing the unit... it's in NZ, so metres should be it)

yum... I love calamari

LOL! Not you too!

i can't get the feed. i'm not sure if i'm that unhappy about it though.

The feed is safe.... it's just the top view of the squid in the tank

No gross innards etc

wow... the scientist just stuck his hand up its eye socket + its set a record for the largest eyes

It's size just hit me.... given that most squids are the size of my hand....

Looks like you could fit two humans in its body

hehehe yeah!

hmmm interesting....

the 2003 squid was almost meter longer than this one, but almost 100kg lighter

Wonder what it smells like in there??

It can't be too good, it's made the hair fall out of one of those guys in the tank.

HAHAHAHA

I was thinking it would smell that bad, since the poor thing has been in deep freeze all this while

Yeah, and I wonder how long it had been dead before it was frozen?

Not very long....

They said they put it into freeze straight away -

How it was caught

Oh thanks deezee, I missed that.... 

No worries andro

OOoh... they've got their fancy endoscopy type camera, and are exploring its insides!

I wonder what it feels like to touch....

From the blog......

Debs said..... 

but it leaves me gobsmacked that you scientists will get into the tank with it and all of its gut juice!!! Legendary stuff guys. I’m guessing it’s getting smelly, or at the least all mooshy.

And...chrispaulin Says:

30 April 2008 at 9:06 pm

Hi Debs
Yes..we went down to the local take away to get some dinner this evening and indeed they said “you guys smell!”…. such is life

It looks like it's indeed gooey and smelly.

Typical of humans.  Find something unusual, alive and rare then kill it just to have a poke around.  It would look much better alive and where it came from.

It was caught (and killed) by accident...

I read on the report that it was barely alive...  How did they know that?  Even if it was, what's the point of taking it out of the sea and depriving other things of it's natual food value just so's some scientist can stick their hand up it's arse?

To further the knowledge of the human race. Some day it might be really really important to know something that can only be discovered by rooting around inside a squid's butt (if squid have buts...)

I agree....

I would never condone killing something just so it can be studied, but if it was caught in the nets, hooks, whatever, unintentionally, I say go for it. Study it all you want.

Then again, who sets out to fish thinking 'I'm gonna catch me a Colossal Squid today'?!

Holy Crap, that's a Big Squid!

LOL! Yep...

Things like this make a mockery of having a go at the Japanese and Norwegians for killing whales.  They should have let it go regardless of whether it was a mistake or not.  If it was dead/died then it would have been scoffed up by the numerous other creatures in the sea - and that is a much better outcome than it being a spectacle on the internet.  It might as well have been given to a Circus... What can they tell from a dead carcass from a squid that lives in deep water (beyond the range of practical human habitation) that is so interesting or essential for the human race to know?.

Will we ever learn?

If it was dead/dying, what's the harm in keeping it?

To answer that I ask you, how many people will get a meal from it?

The scientists, studying it, their assistants, the IT ppl, Discovery channel ppl, and the other tv crew ppl

At least

Why?

Or let's put the question another way.

How many people will bite?

I make it two so far...

You mean eat the squid directly?

And that as well..

Temper temper...  Despite the wind-up I do think it is a bit of a circus laid on for people to have a gawp at "The Monster".

If it does anything at all to make the lot of the remaining giant squids any better then I'll change my mind.

You're just upset they didn't barbecue the whole thing, like the rest of the hasslers up there! ^^

I can't stand squid.  If it was a choice between squid or Macdonalds (and I was starving to death) I might just be tempted with a Macdonalds - well Ok to be honest in that case I think I'd take the death by starvation.

Hah.... No wonder. Squid is good!

Could have been worse.... they could have caught this!

Im guessing thats not a squid.

It's probably from LOST.

This probably should be on the Jokes topic, but anyway it's sort of relevant.......

Two guys are walking along a beach, when suddenly they see a large squid throwing up. The first guy says "look at that, maybe we should take it to a vet", but the second guy says "No, let's take it to my brother".

So they go around to the brothers house and knock on the door, and when the brother opens the door, the second guy says.......... wait for it.............

"Here's that sick squid I owe you".

Ok,ok, I know it's an old one. 

lol, I've never heard it before!

LOL!

Sick squid? Eh??

oh dek, please please please tell me that you get that

It's no use Morgan, she doesn't get it...you can just tell can't you...

I don't get it....

Oh wait... Six quid?

yes! she got it!  

dek clever!! (Only took abt 12 hrs and 3 re-readings)

hey, not to brag, but i'm american and i got in under a minute.

Well, then, in my defence.... ummm... I'm not American... ummm.... or Aussie... or English.... yeah, that covers it

Oh, and this reminded me of Mr Dent:

image credit: Laughing Squid

....hmm......you must be a kiwi then

Heh... No, though I wouldn't mind being one!

Kiwi:

That is one of my favourite cartoons of all time. That thing is so cute!

that is just the sweetest thing!

aaww thats so cool!  I especially like the hammering-with-the-foot!

heh heh Yeah

Hey guess what?!?! It's happening again!!

This time at Melbourne Museum

omg

Yesh!

How many of these things are out there any way?

They're cutting it up!!

maybe the exhibition bought/hunted heaps of them just so they could go around and do this

hahahaha!

It's a better looking squid than the Kiwi one.

And it's longer too,,, That Kiwi squid was only 4.21 metres long and they say that our Aussie squid would have beem about 12 metres long when intact. 

aussie colossal squid kick kiwi colossal squids butt!!

woo hoo

That should be the headlines

Bet it's not the headlines in Kiwiland though.

hahahahaha

The video quality was better, and they had a nice educational 'commentary' too

Like I learnt they have 3-7 million babies, and that they recycle their urine to make a substance that makes them buoyant.

(Ok, so my brain might have muddled the facts up)

LOL! I'd believe it!

NZ - Can't play cricket, can't play squid

tsk tsk

Terrible...

so long

so tong

Quick update: You can view the whole broadcast or download it here