Has anyone seen a giant squid alive? Yes, people have filmed a giant squid alive in the deep sea. As of November 2026, the first photographs of a live giant squid in the ocean were reported in September 2005.
Those photographs showed a giant squid taking bait about 900 metres (3,000 feet) down. The squid in the photographs was about eight metres long.
In July 2012, a team filmed a live giant squid in its deep-sea home off Japan. They used a small submersible. They saw the squid about 630 metres down. The cameras use lights that the squid cannot see.
In June 2019, scientists filmed a giant squid in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first one recorded in United States waters. It was about 100 miles southeast of New Orleans, and about 10 to 12 feet long.
How did they bring the squid close? The scientists used a lure that copies a glowing jellyfish. It is called an e-jelly.
A giant squid has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, about 10 inches across. They let in a lot of light. That helps the squid notice faint shapes in dim water. The eyes may also help it see a sperm whale coming. A moving whale makes tiny sea animals glow. The squid sees that glow.
A giant squid has eight arms and two longer feeding tentacles. The tentacles are much longer than the rest of its body. At the base of its arms is a hard, parrot-like beak.
A giant squid eats fish that live in the deep sea. Sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, eat mostly squid.
The deep sea where giant squid live is dark and cold. They live hundreds of meters down, in oceans all around the world.
Words to know
- submersible: small sea vehicle
- tentacles: long feeding arms
- lure: a fake bait
- photographs: camera pictures
- beak: hard mouth
The short version
People have filmed a giant squid alive in the deep sea. The first photographs of a live giant squid in the ocean were reported in September 2005. A team filmed one off Japan in July 2012, and scientists filmed one in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2019. Its eyes are about 10 inches across.
Quick facts
- The first photographs of a live giant squid in the ocean were reported in September 2005.
- In July 2012, a team filmed a live giant squid off Japan from a small submersible, about 630 metres down.
- In June 2019, scientists filmed a giant squid in the Gulf of Mexico, the first one recorded in United States waters.
- A giant squid has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, about 10 inches across.
Has anyone seen a giant squid alive?
Yes. People have filmed a giant squid alive in the deep sea. The first photographs of a live giant squid in the ocean were reported in September 2005. A team filmed one off Japan in July 2012, and scientists filmed one in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2019.
How big is a giant squid?
The giant squid in the 2005 photographs was about eight metres long. The one filmed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2019 was about 10 to 12 feet long. A giant squid has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, about 10 inches across.
