The Giant Squid
For centuries, sailors told of the kraken, a giant many-armed monster. In 2004, scientists finally photographed one alive.
What was reported
Sailors' tales of the kraken, a sea monster with huge arms that could grab ships, go back centuries. Bodies of giant squid occasionally washed ashore, proving the animal was real, but no one had ever seen a living one in the deep sea.
In 2004, Japanese scientists Tsunemi Kubodera and Kyoichi Mori lowered a camera with bait into the deep water off the Ogasawara Islands and photographed a giant squid about 8 metres long. In 2012, a team filmed one in its natural habitat for the first time.
Explanations offered
This is a case where the legend had real roots. Giant squid can grow longer than a bus and live at depths of hundreds of metres, which is why they stayed hidden for so long. The kraken stories were exaggerated, but the animal behind them was real.
- When
- First photographed alive in 2004
- Where
- Off the Ogasawara Islands, Japan
- Witnesses
- Japanese marine scientists
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.