Do Giant Squid Attack?

Do Giant Squid attack people? Let's take a look and find out.

Giant Squid Attacks Surf board:

Sources:

[YusufGinnah]

Cephalopods being some of the most intelligent creatures on Earth means that it isn't a leap to find them being curious about large unusual items in their environment, ie: ships, boats, etc.

[georgethompson]

Considering the intelligence of squid I'd be unsurprised if they were either curious about the funny object and exploring. Or if they were trying to hitch a ride on the fast vroomy thing.

[el_guapo]

Something I considered concerning why they "attack" ships much larger than themselves. The squid are known prey of the largest Toothed Whale species, the Sperm Whale. Therefore, it could be that they lash out defensively when they see large ships since they have a roughly similar shape to Sperm Whales, even if a lot of the largest ships are much much larger than any creature that has ever lived in or out of the water.

In conclusion, I think SOME of the "attacks" are actual attacks, but of a defensive nature, not a predatory one, but most are probably just injured/tired squids latching onto something for dear life while failing to realize that the item they are grabbing is not strong/stable enough to hold their weight.

[reneebrown]

The only reason why you would have a problem swimming and getting attacked by any size squid is if you swim with lights on you at night. So don't go for a midnight swim with underwater flashing lights unless you want to see Davie Jones locker up close and personal. P. S. The only area that I have heard of human attacks is in the gulf of Baja Mexico.

[curtcoeurdelion]

If you watch the whole video series with Scott Cassell about the Humboldt squid attacking, circling and communicating it’s really fascinating and gives you an insight on how intelligent and ferocious these predators really are. If hungry, they will constantly attack you.

[lcarus]

My fathers cousins are old school commercial fisherman out of Nova Scotia and YES giant squid do attack ships. Most of the time its not an attack per say but they grab the hull and feel around the deck with their arms. They told me of a incident when a huge 20+ ft squid came up along side of their ship as they were on deck eating a late dinner, it flashed a bunch of colors then disappeared.

[nadagainagain]

I assume the chances of humans coming in contact with a giant or colossal squid would be very rare but in the case of it happening youd definitely be a potential meal. Humboldt squid are quite large and attack divers pretty often.

[damienthimons]

Great videos!!! I will spread the word of your channel. Great quality, editing, information, all delivered in an entertaining fashion without going overboard. Keep it up and don’t stop making videos.

[WolfkingSybren]

I like your theory about not attacking but maybe seeking help or being possibly sick....I saw this movie called My Friend The Squid, it was absolutely beautiful and shows how intelligent they are. I'd love the idea that just like whales, they have ways of making contact and they are not aggressive towards humans.
Very nice video here, thank you for sharing!

[Scott-wfkp]

Great content here. I had a laugh at the term "squid apologist". But I completely agree with you. I think the lack of understanding between our species is the main culprit here. I used to be terrified of dogs, now I work with them and am the happiest I've ever been. It was a shift in understanding the way their species experiences life and communicates with others. Not all "aggressive" behavior is actually aggressive when you take a step back and look at the science. I'm not saying these animals aren't dangerous; they can still hurt us, whether intentionally or not. But managing the way we react to them is a huge step towards minimizing dangerous encounters.

[Taz]

One story of note, there was a navy ship with some advanced sonar/radar and it had a nose where the electronics were housed, it was covered in rubber, they hit something and had to put into port, the covering was replaced and found to be full of massive circular holes, these were made by suckers of a large squid, I cannot remember if they thought it was the colour or the waves the electronic were giving off, but something caught the attention of a large squid, as someone else noted, sperm whales have numerous battle scars from squid some with very large suckers

[samuraijackoff]

Now that I think about it, ideas of attacks like the Kraken could be ships pulling up a dead giant squid or alive, then the thing would attach itself to the ship as the shippers tried to pull it onboard. They would panic on what to do.

[guardsmencadia]

In most mammals, the higher the intelligence, the higher the propensity for gratuitous violence. I suspect that molluscs are the same.

[ghostoflazlo]

Dude, your channel is amazing!
Thank you so much for all the hard work you put in, it's massively appreciated 🦖

[peteacher]

This is the most considered, sensible and plausible account of squid activity that I have read and listened to. Well done!

[munykst]

The navy attack seems to maybe have happened in the evening. Don’t squid come to the surface in evenings? I seem to remember that being said about that with Hombolt Squid.

[rdc]

I heard a story about some sailors who were in a life raft for several day's after their ship had sunk. They said one afternoon a long tentacle came over the side and was feeling around till it grabbed one sailors leg, jerked him over the side and was never seen again. It happened again that night, but this time they stabbed and hit it until it went away. The thing kept coming back and ended up taking I think it was 3 more men before they were rescued. So by this account yes they do hunt humans.

[high_stakes_ikea]

I think this is just the new version of fearing shark attacks. Sharks aren’t really that dangerous, and neither are these squid. They’re just curious, intelligent, and in the case of these deep sea squid? Probably hurt, sick, or dying, if they’re at the surface. Just like the video says. Fantastic content that doesn’t demonize these creatures and is still a good balance of spooky and educational.

[cmufutube]

Great video. Well put together and I especially liked the gentle, but enthusiastic narration. Thanks you for posting this.

[caltonfollows]

You might want to look into assertions that people in life boats of sunken warships back in WWI &/or WWII reported that some people were grabbed out of the boats by arms. . . . I'd be interested as to what verification you could find for these assertions.