A beachcomber discovered a rare giant squid on the shore of South Africa last week.Jam Press/@alipaulus
You’ve got to be squidding.
A beachcomber made the discovery of a lifetime after happening across an extremely rare giant squid on the shore of South Africa last week. She documented her one-of-a-kind find in a series of photos currently going viral on Instagram.
“Seems there is not too much known about these creatures,” wrote Ali Paulas in a ’Gram post describing the colossal flotsam, which she discovered on Long Beach in Kommetjie.
Accompanying pics — which one commentator labeled “incredible and sad” — show the king-size calamari, which reportedly measured over 7 feet long from head to tentacle tips. In one of the pics, a young boy can be seen inspecting the sea creature, which appears to be about his size with its tendrils bunched up.
While sizable by human standards, the specimen was actually a squeaker in the realm of the giant squid — the world’s largest invertebrate, which is capable of growing up to 43 feet long.
It’s unclear how the mammoth mollusk met its maker; however, Paulus speculated on the ’Gram that the “poor guy got taken out by a propeller.” Indeed, one of the photos shows what appears to be a deep gash above one of the cephalopod’s tendrils.
Jam Press/@alipaulus
Jam Press/@alipaulus
Jam Press/@alipaulus
The find was particularly rare as the giant squid is an elusive species that resides at depths of between 1,000 to 2,000 feet.
The last sighting in South Africa occurred in 2020 when a baby washed ashore in Capetown.
In an even more astonishing squid-cident in April, a live specimen became stranded in a beach in Obama, Japan, as seen in this incredible footage.
Jam Press/@alipaulus
Jam Press/@alipaulus
