Whalers have long told of the "Antarctic giant squid," claiming its tentacles could drag small boats into the deep. In the 1950s, a Soviet research ship crew reportedly saw a "black creature as big as a small island" surface and then quickly dive, leaving a huge whirlpool. Modern biology has confirmed that giant squid and colossal squid do exist in the deep Southern Ocean.
Account
Whalers have long told of the "Antarctic giant squid," claiming its tentacles could drag small boats into the deep. In the 1950s, a Soviet research ship crew reportedly saw a "black creature as big as a small island" surface and then quickly dive, leaving a huge whirlpool. Modern biology has confirmed that giant squid and colossal squid do exist in the deep Southern Ocean.
Contested
Giant squid and colossal squid are real. However, features in the reports such as "luminescence, multiple eyes, asymmetric tentacles" exceed known biology and have not been confirmed by specimens.
Sources
- 19th-century whaling ship logbooks
- 1950s Soviet research ship sighting report