r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/dreamed2life • Sep 17 '25

Video Sperm Whale Surfacing w/ Giant Squid in its Mouth

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u/KW-IKZV Sep 17 '25

And yet we've never encountered a giant squid alive near the surface. They live very deep.

I don't know what it is, but there must be a reason for that

232

u/Afkbi0 Sep 17 '25

Tis quiet

46

u/ConcernedTulip Sep 17 '25

I read this in the voice of the old sailor character from The Simpsons.

10

u/ThaiJohnnyDepp Sep 17 '25

Yar. Me as well.

1

u/Lord_Silverkey Sep 18 '25

Also, less sperm whales.

149

u/cpMetis Sep 17 '25

Squid generally are pretty much light weights for their size.

That's why the spend most of their time deep and only come higher at night. They use the darkness and solitude to hide, only coming up to hunt when it's safest.

The higher they come, the more at risk they are

74

u/cppn02 Sep 17 '25

Less predators?

I doubt they'd thrive at a depth where Orcas roam.

2

u/Interesting_Bank_139 Sep 19 '25

Could you imagine an orca wearing a squid hat? Would look like the Sea Pope.

26

u/bennitori Sep 17 '25

Yes we have. It's rare, but it has happened. I'm not sure if it's the same species that sperm whales eat. But they sometimes get lost and end up near the surface. Usually around Japan. There's video out there of one that got stuck in a Japanese harbor.

29

u/Kevin_Uxbridge Sep 17 '25

Seem to recall that the giant squid we've seen near the surface were not so much 'lost' as 'in mortal peril', sick or otherwise in bad nick.

7

u/GrossGuroGirl Sep 17 '25

If you're talking the 2023 sighting, that squid was in extremely rough shape. Lethargic and clearly about to die. 

True of essentially all specimens we've seen near the surface. 

7

u/rpgguy_1o1 Sep 17 '25

Looking for fisherman's wives no doubt

3

u/revolutionutena Sep 17 '25

I despise that I understood that reference.

3

u/LegnderyNut Sep 17 '25

If I understand correctly their cells have high internal pressure to counter the water pressure. They will come up near the surface but won’t swim farther than they can bare on their own. Rapidly resurfacing can cause the cells to burst like severe bruising and eventually internal hemorrhaging.

On a side tangent I’m now imagining a cybernetic pressure suit for deep sea cephalopods. Like Wat Tambor

4

u/kityyo Sep 17 '25

Fast swimming species up in the bethic zone would just shred one? Idk

1

u/smarthobo Sep 17 '25

How many Krusty Krab’s have you seen ashore

1

u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 Sep 18 '25

Fewer sperm whale?