Giant squid hunts prey in first-ever recorded footage from deep sea; watch video

Scientists have captured hunting skills of rare elusive giant squid under the deep sea in the gulf of Mexico. These creatures are hard to film as they live thousands of feet under the sea. Researchers used an unobtrusive camera platform to attract the elusive creature using a fake bioluminescent jellyfish.

Giant squid captured for the first time

The marine biologists have for the first time, captured video of Architeuthis dux hunting prey under the deep sea in the gulf of Mexico. The footage was captured in 2019, but researchers have now released analysis of the creature's behaviour, reported the Daily Mail. Experts previously believed that the squid waited before hunting its prey, but the new video contradicts the view as the creature is stalking the E-Jelly before attacking it.

The scientists used special equipment that had built-in camera which captured the elusive sea creature hunting its prey. The scientists used fake jellyfish called E-Jelly to attract the squid. The fake jellyfish mimiced the bioluminescence emitted by jellyfish in distress. Giant squids' eyes focus on shorter-wavelength blue light so the researchers used red light, which the squid can't see. Its existence has inspired legends of the kraken and other sea monsters for centuries, 'yet our knowledge of the large deep-sea cephalopods that inspired this myth remains limited,' researchers wrote in a new report published in the journal Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.

The researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) built a 'trap to capture the giant squid. The giant squid are known as Architeuthis dux and it can grow more than 40 feet long. TThe giant squid's feeding tentacles can snatch its prey up to 33 feet away. Its eyes are the largest in the animal kingdom and can absorb more light than its smaller counterparts allowing the rare giant squid to catch bioluminescent prey. These creatures are often scared off by the noise and lights of cameras.

(Image Credits: Pauloaep/TERRA_RARA/Twitter)