Jumbo squid ‘invasion’ spooks divers
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Associated Press
First Posted 08:05:00 07/18/2009
SAN DIEGO — Jumbo flying squid—aggressive 1.5-meter-long sea monsters with razor-sharp beaks and toothy tentacles—have invaded the shallow waters off San Diego, spooking scuba divers and washing up dead on tourist-packed beaches.
The carnivorous calamari, which can grow up to 45 kg, came up from the depths last week and swarms of them roughed up unsuspecting divers. Some divers report tentacles enveloping their masks and yanking at their cameras and gear.
Stories of too-close encounters with the alien-like cephalopods have chased many veteran divers out of the water and created a whirlwind of excitement among the rest, who are torn between their personal safety and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to swim with the deep-sea giants.
The so-called Humboldt squid are native to the deep waters off Mexico, where they have been known to attack humans and are nicknamed “red devils†for their rust-red coloring and mean streak. Those who dive with them there chum the water with bait and sometimes get in a metal cage or wear chain mail to avoid being lashed by tentacles.
Squid hunt
The squid hunt in schools of up to 1,200, can swim up to 24 kph and can skim over the water to escape predators.
On a recent night, Magill watched in awe as a dozen squid with doleful, expressive eyes circled her group, tapping and patting the divers and gently bumping them before dashing away.
One especially large squid suspended itself motionless in the water about a meter away and peered at her closely, its eyes rolling, before it vanished into the black. A shimmering incandescence rippled along its body, almost as if it were communicating through its skin.
Calamari attack
But the next night, things were different: A large squid surprised Magill by hitting her from behind and grabbing at her with its arms, pulling her sideways in the water. The powerful creature ripped her buoyancy hose away from her chest and knocked away her light.
When Magill recovered, she didn’t know which direction was up and at first couldn’t find the hose to help her stay afloat as she surfaced. The squid was gone.
Other divers have reported squid pulling at their masks and gear and roughing them up.
Testing, tasting
Roger Uzun, a veteran scuba diver and amateur underwater videographer, swam with a swarm of the creatures for about 20 minutes and said they appeared more curious than aggressive. The animals taste with their tentacles, he said, and seemed to be touching him and his wet suit to determine if he was edible.
“As soon as we went underwater and turned on the video lights, there they were. They would ram into you, they kept hitting the back of my head,†he said.
Chasing prey
No one knows how many squid are in the shallow waters, but one biologist estimated they could number in the hundreds, or possibly thousands.
“Usually where there’s one squid, there’s a lot of squid, so I would assume that there’s a good number,†said John Hyde, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in San Diego.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=21141.0