Colossal Squid finally caught on camera in the wild—100 years after its discovery; Check deep sea footage

For the first time in over a century since it was discovered, a colossal squid has been filmed alive in its natural habitat—deep in the ocean, far from human reach.

The extraordinary moment unfolded earlier this year in the remote waters of the Southern Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands, on the edge of the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, revealing one of Earth’s most mysterious sea creatures in action, reported BBC.

Until now, nearly all information about colossal squids came from carcasses pulled up by fishing nets or recovered from the stomachs of whales and seabirds.

The footage, captured at a depth of 600 metres (1,968 feet), shows a juvenile colossal squid—measuring just 30 centimetres (11.8 inches) long—gliding through the dark.

Despite its small size, this baby squid represents a species that can eventually grow to a whopping 7 metres (23 feet) in length and tip the scales at 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), making it the largest and heaviest invertebrate on the planet.

The sighting was made possible during a 35-day research expedition aboard the Falkor (too), a vessel operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute.

According to the report, the mission, led by Dr Michelle Taylor of the University of Essex, aimed to document life in one of the least explored corners of the deep sea.


A century in the shadows


This rare video footage marks a historic milestone—coming 100 years after the species was first formally identified.

Chief scientist Dr Michelle Taylor, from the University of Essex, said the team wasn’t certain of the squid’s identity at first, but its “beautiful and unusual” appearance compelled them to record the encounter.

The mystery mollusc was later confirmed to be a juvenile colossal squid by cephalopod expert Dr Kat Bolstad, who called the footage a major scientific breakthrough.

"It's exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist," she said.


Colossal squids are still largely unknown to science.

Their life cycle, behaviours, and population size remain something of a mystery. Juveniles are transparent, losing that ghost-like appearance as they mature. Another eerie feature of the species? The presence of sharp, rotating hooks on their arms—an adaptation suited for life as an ambush predator in the crushing depths.

Southern Ocean surprises


As if one rare squid sighting weren’t enough, the same expedition team also captured footage of another elusive deep-sea dweller in January—the glacial glass squid—adding to the scientific significance of their work, said the BBC report.

"The first sighting of two different squids on back-to-back expeditions is remarkable and shows how little we have seen of the magnificent inhabitants of the southern ocean," said Dr Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute. “

"These unforgettable moments continue to remind us that the ocean is brimming with mysteries yet to be solved.”