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red_mustard
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oh great. Im sure some evolutionary guru is already in his basement making up some classification and evolution link for it, atleast until another is found (oops)
Anyway. no worries, unless you see big ass tentacles wrap around the deck of your ship.
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Mordoch
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Denver, Colorado
Jan 2002
time: 05:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Alinestra Covelia
I don't see how a giant squid could kill a sperm whale, no matter how large it is. They're all roughly the consistency of mucus, which means that a sperm whale would be able to swallow their limbs directly (squid arms have been found, unchewed, in the gullet of sperm whales before now).
As for eating a sperm whale, the sheer task of penetrating the tough outer layer of skin and blubber would be impossible for the squid's beak. |
From this site.
quote:
We know the giant squid feeds on whales from eye-witness accounts. In October 1966, two lighthouse keepers at Danger Point, South Africa, observed a baby southern right whale under attack from a giant squid. For an hour and a half the monster clung to the whale trying to drown it as the whale's mother watched helplessly. "The little whale could stay down for 10 to 12 minutes, then come up. It would just have enough time to spout - only two or three seconds - and then down again." The squid finally won and the baby whale was never seen again.
Giant Squid have been seen in battle with adult whales too. In 1965, a Soviet whaler watched a battle between a squid and a 40 ton sperm whale. In this case neither were victorious. The strangled whale was found floating in the sea with the squid's tentacles wrapped around the whale's throat. The squid's severed head was found in the whale's stomach.
Sperm whales eat squid and originally it had been thought that such battles were the result of a sperm whale taking on a squid that was just to large too be an easy meal. The incident with the Brunswick suggests otherwise.
The Brunswick was a 15,000 ton auxiliary tanker owned by the Royal Norwegian Navy. In the 1930's it was attacked at least three times by giant squid. In each case the attack was deliberate as the squid would pull along side of the ship, pace it, then suddenly turn, run into the ship and wrap it's tentacles around the hull. The encounters were fatal for the squid. Since the animal was unable to get a good grip on the ship's steel surface, the animals slid off and fell into the ship's propellers.
Apparently, for some unknown reason, the Brunswick looked like a whale to the squids. This suggests that the sperm whale is not always the aggressor in the battles. In fact, though many sperm whales have been captured, few of their stomachs seemed to contain parts of giant squids. |
The colossal squid discovered is believed to reach at least 25 meters in length upon maturity, compared to 18 meters for regular giant squids such as those discussed above. The colossal squid is also believed to be stronger and more muscular than giant squids are. A mature colossal squid is definately capable of grabbing a Sperm Whale and drowning it. The collosal squid also has a much sharper beak than the giant squid, which probably allows it rip chunks out of a Sperm Whale.
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04-04-2003 01:33
Attachment: 
Poor little fellas. 
I was gonna make that joke!
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