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Giant Squid Washes Up On Beach In New Zealand

Giant Squid Washes Up On Beach In New Zealand

An enormous squid, measuring in 4.5m (14 ft) has was up on the south coast of Wellington, in New Zealand

Rachael Grealish

Rachael Grealish

It's always sad when you see a poor a beached sea creature washed up.

But the squid that washed up on the south coast of Wellington, New Zealand on Sunday morning, is something else.

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One Ocean Hunter Spearfishing & Freediving Specilists team member, Dan, had a morning like no other when he came across the 4.5 metre (14 foot, 9 inch) long cephalopod.

The size of the giant squid easily overshadowed any of the brave souls that had the guts to lay beside the poor sea creature.

Talking to Newstalk ZB, the brothers, Daniel, Jack, and Matthew Aplin, said they were looking for a place to dive when they spotted the huge critter.

Daniel said: "My brother said 'what's that over there?' and pointed it out.

"It was right next to the track so we pulled over and we were like: 'It's a big squid'."

If you're not a fan of the giant squid variety of sea creatures Wellington may not be your ideal destination to visit - as though they're not common, giant squids do appear from time to time, a Department of Conservation spokesperson said.

Giant squid spend their time in the deep sea and rarely surface, so it's unclear how this 4m youngster ended up on a beach.

"It was pretty clean, nothing major on it," Daniel Aplin explained. "There was a scratch on the top of its head but smaller than a lighter, tiny, wouldn't think that's what killed it."

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The cause of death to the deep-sea creature is still unknown at this point.

This isn't the first time a giant squid has washed up on New Zealand beaches.

In 2015, a 7m (23ft) giant turned up on a beach in Kaikoura - the second one to wash up in the area in the last five years or so.

The largest giant squid on record measured in at 12 m (40 feet) in length - so if the squid that washed up on Wellington made you squeamish with its size, I'm afraid to tell you that little guy still had a lot of growing room in him.

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Most squid that wash up on shores are dead, however, in 2016 there was a report of the first live squid, outside of Japan, to wash up on a beach in Spain.

This creature must have been quite young - it was only 3m (10 feet) and a small female.

She'd had the unfortunate death of sustaining injuries from a larger squid somewhere in the sea.


Featured Image Credit: Facebook

Topics: World News, News, Animals