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Rare giant squid sighting in Japanese harbour | Rare giant squid sighting in Japanese harbour |
(35 minutes later) | |
Giant squid prefer the deep sea, so it was a rare treat for onlookers in Toyama Bay harbour when one swam in. | Giant squid prefer the deep sea, so it was a rare treat for onlookers in Toyama Bay harbour when one swam in. |
Though imposing, the 3.7m (12ft) cephalopod was much smaller than the 13m they can grow to. | Though imposing, the 3.7m (12ft) cephalopod was much smaller than the 13m they can grow to. |
It spent several hours in the harbour and was filmed by local divers on Christmas Eve. | It spent several hours in the harbour and was filmed by local divers on Christmas Eve. |
Mitsuhiro Fuwa, a curator at the local Uozu Aquarium, told the BBC there had been more than a dozen giant squid sightings in the last year. | |
Giant squid are more often seen trapped in fishing nets than swimming near the surface. | Giant squid are more often seen trapped in fishing nets than swimming near the surface. |
Professional underwater cameraman Takayoshi Kojima told the BBC he rushed to the harbour from nearby Toyama city when a manager at the marina called him. | |
He helped guide the squid to a deeper part of the marina, near the exit to the sea, where it disappeared. | |
Mr Kojima said he did not know whether the squid made it to open waters but said it did not look like it would survive long. | |
Mr Fuwa said that although the squid showed some signs of energy - squirting ink and trying to wrap its legs around the divers - it did not look very healthy, with its body pointing downwards and its legs up. | |
Mr Kojima said that with a rise in sea temperature, giant squid have moved north to waters off Toyama, from where they swim up from deeper waters during the winter season. | |
He added that most sightings happen between December and January. | |
Toyama is about 300km (186 miles) west of Tokyo. |
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