Researchers film giant squid in the Gulf of Mexico

July 1, 2019 Spectacular footage from 760 meters depth

Rare shots were made by researchers in the Gulf of Mexico. They managed to get a living giant squid of the kind Architeuthis dux, which was first filmed in 2005, in front of the camera in its natural habitat.

Members of an expedition of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made the recordings about 160 kilometres southeast of New Orleans. The researchers have lured the animal with bait. The video shows how the animal approaches, examines the bait and quickly disappears back into the dark depths.

The now filmed specimen of the giant squid is, according to the biologists, probably a young animal with a size of three to four meters. Adult giant squid can reach a size of up to five meters.

The current video was created under dramatic circumstances. As if the encounter with one of the most mysterious and legendary animals of the deep sea could not be without consequences: After the recordings were in the can, a storm arose, a lightning struck the research ship and on portside a waterspout appeared...