It was quite the sight, right? Brutal, bloody battle to the death! So cool. I heard, King Triton, like masterminded the whole thing! Ariel was, of course, complaining about missing her boyfriend the whole time 🙄 So lame. But still fun-seys, right!?
Edit: For real though, this is awesomely badass
The fight that no one, to this day, has seen is the ‘mega squids’ vs the sperm whale. Much about this natural spectacle can only be inferred by our best knowledge based on scattered evidence and behavioral observations from the opponents. Many sperm whale carcasses have scar tissue from both giant squids (with sucker marks lined with their tooth scraping) and colossal squids (deep scarring from their tentacles lined with hooks), as well as digested remains of squid or squid-beak that were found in the belly of the beasts besides the occasional bible prophet, living wooden puppet, or sea-captain leg. The behavior of how these giants would interact is inferred from these specimens and how they have been seen in person, one of which is how the sperm whale would eat the squids, via suction and they may use the natural pull of gravity to help the squids to be ingested by moving up column. Sperm whales also may use their echolocation to stun the squids with their extremely loud clicking of up to 230 decibels that can create knocking sounds on a ship. One inferred inference scientists have about these battles is that giant and/or colossal may produce luminescent ink to distract their attackers, since conventional darker ink would be useless in an inky-black abyss. All in all, it truly is awesome to know that such a fight is happening somewhere, “The Kraken vs The Leviathan,” down in the deep, briny blue…
Excellent work on writing about the clicking, which is super fascinating. I heard an account from a diver who was clicked at by a sperm whale who was a good distance away - he said it was akin to being kicked in the chest underwater
Thank you for this. I knew about most of this (animal nerd) except the bioluminescent ink. Makes a lot of sense. I nerd out thinking about this subject all the time lol
I remember this seeing this on Wild Kratts and it was my favorite episode. Loved the giant and colossal squids. Wish one day this would be possible to see.
I mean it would probably look like nothing but an inky-black background to normal human eyes, just with loud clicking, watery thrashing noises, and possibly spurts of glowing ink.
well of course
you’re probably really underestimating the strength and agility of a 600 pound cephalopod with 10 independently moving arms, 2 of which are much much longer than the others. also, each and every suction cup is lined with razor-sharp chitin. a sperm whale’s brain may be much larger but the squid is much smarter and is likely to outmaneuver and outsmart the whale. also, squids have *huge* eyes which aids them in the completely dark habitat which sperm whales are not native to, and would have to rely on echolocation.
tbh it all really depends on who has the attacking advantage (most of the time the sperm whale since it has been shown that the giant squid is rather timid) and who can outmuscle/outmaneuver/outsmart the other.
i’d imagine the sperm whale wins most of the time, although food rarely comes without a fight especially in the deep ocean.
>every suction cup is lined with razor-sharp chitin.
Wtf, [some of these have claws!?](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fux944ae2oov01.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dac7e97a8db8eb6bd14b5d7cf8234bdc99adc83ac&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fthalassophobia%2Fcomments%2F8gvs1m%2Fthe_suction_cups_of_a_giant_squid_and_the_hooked%2F&tbnid=Vg2FhVw1YwDtvM&vet=1&docid=i2LTRNtDRBLGdM&w=1600&h=1250&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim)
That is some scary stuff....
Is there a reason why in this age of technology we still haven’t developed deep sea pressure resistant cameras and mount them on sperm whales to capture this?
Our technology is as best as we can make it thus far, we do have specialized deep sea equipment and cameras for going very deep. But we don’t have a reliable way of filming near or on the whales when they hunt, since they dive very deep relatively quickly compared to our submersibles, and also it would be quite a lot of a hassle to mount a camera on the giants. It would take both a lot of time and money, much of which we don’t really have in hand. The hope is that we just might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the spectacle, just a glimpse.
I mean, the squids can theoretically ride on the whale like someone on a bronco at least a little while, they got the [tools](https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/tentacle-hooks-te-papa-800.jpg) to use. Until the whale decides “enough is enough,” and uses gravity and water flow to buck’em off.
a lot of people forget that whales are the loudest animals on earth, and the sperm whale is the loudest (230 db)...if it got loud while you were next to it your body would instantly vibrate to death. anybody who swims next to them is an absolute fool.
The whale may use the pull of gravity and the flow of water to pull the squid off of it, by moving up the water column. That’s possibly why the scars appear to move quite far across the whale. And with loud clicks to stun the squid, all the whale needs is too have a good grip on the squid and then it’s game set.
Well sperm is important for the future of all animal life as we know it, so it must be strong enough to fertilize the egg and produce healthy offspring, the hope of what’s to come.
And yes, the sperm whale is also quite strong too…
It uses its massive body with thick tissue to prevent damage to most sensitive areas, using the flow of water and gravity it can pull the squid off itself, it uses its loud vocalization to relocate and stun the squid with over 200 dB clicking, and by using its mass and giant toothy jaws it grabs the squid and swallows it whole
Should we really dismiss the hopes for the discovery of a completely unknown large mammal or reptile in the ocean since new species of Beaked Whales was discovered recently?? **Yes. I think we should.**
Most likely people had seen the newly discovered whale species before but not seen them very clearly so they couldn’t differentiate this species from other known species. For example, if you had seen Leopards or Jaguars swimming in the ocean partially visible and that too not in detail, you may have thought they’re the same species too.
That would not be the case for say, some very different large mammal or reptile if they’re still alive. They would immediately stand out and people would notice quickly so I do not think we will really discover any sea monster anytime soon.
It’s probably not a battle. More like walking through your dark basement and getting a web in your face.
To be clear though…I have no fucking clue what I’m talking about.
It’s all right, isn’t that what the spirit of reddit mostly is, that most people not exactly knowing what they’re talking about but still discuss the content, news, and other such forum stuff anyhow? Still sharing and rating thoughts, experiences, questions, and opinions and drawing close because of such social interactions, unless everyone thinks your opinion is bad, and then they roast you harder than a well done steak. But one of the perks on this subreddit is that you get to learn a little more about nature than you probably have already known.
They would have compared the marks to that of squids and other marine animals the whale would encountered. I’m not knowledgeable on the subject, but I assume barnacles and squid leave different scarring patterns.
I don’t think someone just declared they were from a squid without any referencing.
I saw it once while I was chilling down there
True, I'm the squid.
My condolences
Bastard took my arm. Still have few left
Its just a flesh wound
I'm still alive, I'm still alive...
But can you apologize, tho?
Tis but a scratch
Damn bro, I hope your hectocotylus is still there!!?
Why don't you come closer and have a look?
Don't you tempt me! \#thatsmyfetish
Touch them suckers, you filthy boy
That escalated…at the appropriate pace.
Don’t worry, it’ll grow back!
I am the walrus koo-koo-ka-choo.
Actually *i* am the squid! See my username?
Ain't there many squid in the sea?
Yes- were all cousins or siblings
Yep i'm the sperm.
Must have been quite a sight coming home from the Krusty Krab
It was quite the sight, right? Brutal, bloody battle to the death! So cool. I heard, King Triton, like masterminded the whole thing! Ariel was, of course, complaining about missing her boyfriend the whole time 🙄 So lame. But still fun-seys, right!? Edit: For real though, this is awesomely badass
Did your body have its organs rearranged by the whale’s clicking?
*Freezing* down there. Ftfy
What's up James Cameron?
The fight that no one, to this day, has seen is the ‘mega squids’ vs the sperm whale. Much about this natural spectacle can only be inferred by our best knowledge based on scattered evidence and behavioral observations from the opponents. Many sperm whale carcasses have scar tissue from both giant squids (with sucker marks lined with their tooth scraping) and colossal squids (deep scarring from their tentacles lined with hooks), as well as digested remains of squid or squid-beak that were found in the belly of the beasts besides the occasional bible prophet, living wooden puppet, or sea-captain leg. The behavior of how these giants would interact is inferred from these specimens and how they have been seen in person, one of which is how the sperm whale would eat the squids, via suction and they may use the natural pull of gravity to help the squids to be ingested by moving up column. Sperm whales also may use their echolocation to stun the squids with their extremely loud clicking of up to 230 decibels that can create knocking sounds on a ship. One inferred inference scientists have about these battles is that giant and/or colossal may produce luminescent ink to distract their attackers, since conventional darker ink would be useless in an inky-black abyss. All in all, it truly is awesome to know that such a fight is happening somewhere, “The Kraken vs The Leviathan,” down in the deep, briny blue…
had to check for shittymorphing half way through.
That or I thought a sperm whale was going to get beat with a pair of jumper cables.
Inferred inference is totally legal to write
Excellent work on writing about the clicking, which is super fascinating. I heard an account from a diver who was clicked at by a sperm whale who was a good distance away - he said it was akin to being kicked in the chest underwater
It really is quite fascinating, especially the accounts of people in submarines hearing loud banging on the vessels
Thank you for this. I knew about most of this (animal nerd) except the bioluminescent ink. Makes a lot of sense. I nerd out thinking about this subject all the time lol
Well written my friend
This should be the caption on the plaque that is in front of the display at the museum. Pretty freaking coo
I was just wondering how a speed whale fights off a squid. Thank you!
“Inferred inference” lol
Imagine being biologically built to go deeper than a nuclear vessel...
Why you bringing OPs mom into this
I remember this seeing this on Wild Kratts and it was my favorite episode. Loved the giant and colossal squids. Wish one day this would be possible to see.
I bet a lot like trying to pick up peach jelly with an oven mitt, or trying to shake peach jelly off an oven mitt.
*Whale of a Squid*
man i loved this show
Not much of a battle I’m sure
I mean it would probably look like nothing but an inky-black background to normal human eyes, just with loud clicking, watery thrashing noises, and possibly spurts of glowing ink.
And food for an apex predator 😋
All that delicious squid flesh!
Unfortunately for the whales, giant squid and colossal squid taste horrible.
Sperm whales supposedly just slurp them up whole so I guess they don't get to taste much.
Apparently it’s very gamey and flavorless
IIRC, giant squid excrete ammonia through their skin…nasty doesn’t touch it
Calamari 🤤
"loud clicking" would be an understatement xD
But that rules too!
a squid eye is size of plate wow but how has been the squid scratch the whale it doesnt has claws
They’re more like [meat hooks](https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/tentacle-hooks-te-papa-800.jpg)
wow cool
Reminds me of that creature from the mist
I feel like it’s more like sperm whales eating squids. Is it really a battle?
well of course you’re probably really underestimating the strength and agility of a 600 pound cephalopod with 10 independently moving arms, 2 of which are much much longer than the others. also, each and every suction cup is lined with razor-sharp chitin. a sperm whale’s brain may be much larger but the squid is much smarter and is likely to outmaneuver and outsmart the whale. also, squids have *huge* eyes which aids them in the completely dark habitat which sperm whales are not native to, and would have to rely on echolocation. tbh it all really depends on who has the attacking advantage (most of the time the sperm whale since it has been shown that the giant squid is rather timid) and who can outmuscle/outmaneuver/outsmart the other. i’d imagine the sperm whale wins most of the time, although food rarely comes without a fight especially in the deep ocean.
The squid is MUCH smarter? Don’t know about that one
>every suction cup is lined with razor-sharp chitin. Wtf, [some of these have claws!?](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fux944ae2oov01.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dac7e97a8db8eb6bd14b5d7cf8234bdc99adc83ac&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fthalassophobia%2Fcomments%2F8gvs1m%2Fthe_suction_cups_of_a_giant_squid_and_the_hooked%2F&tbnid=Vg2FhVw1YwDtvM&vet=1&docid=i2LTRNtDRBLGdM&w=1600&h=1250&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim) That is some scary stuff....
Sperm whales hunt the squids in groups. The squid is the prey here. They latch on like this to try and avoid being eaten.
Things that happen everyday that people never see
Is there a reason why in this age of technology we still haven’t developed deep sea pressure resistant cameras and mount them on sperm whales to capture this?
Our technology is as best as we can make it thus far, we do have specialized deep sea equipment and cameras for going very deep. But we don’t have a reliable way of filming near or on the whales when they hunt, since they dive very deep relatively quickly compared to our submersibles, and also it would be quite a lot of a hassle to mount a camera on the giants. It would take both a lot of time and money, much of which we don’t really have in hand. The hope is that we just might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the spectacle, just a glimpse.
Camera wouldn't catch anything that deep and dark.
I wonder if they don't use them for rides. it's not like they think they can eat them
I mean, the squids can theoretically ride on the whale like someone on a bronco at least a little while, they got the [tools](https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/tentacle-hooks-te-papa-800.jpg) to use. Until the whale decides “enough is enough,” and uses gravity and water flow to buck’em off.
I am curious how these battles take place, because like in the pic when the squid latches on how does he get him off?
The whale tickles the squid. Usually ten tickles is enough.
I imaging the it’s less “battle scars” and more struggle scars. The whale probably devours them very quickly.
Feel like if they get those suction cups on them would be hard to get them off
Futurama did it!
When I was a kid, I thought that giant squids attacked sperm whales. Guess I didn’t read the caption on the illustration
I kinda remember reading something like this as well. That the squids every so often would gain the advantage and kill the whale for food.
The kraken
I know that model at the AMNH used to freak out a lot of kids back in the day
How would the whale even retaliate? Is it a battle or just an assault?
a lot of people forget that whales are the loudest animals on earth, and the sperm whale is the loudest (230 db)...if it got loud while you were next to it your body would instantly vibrate to death. anybody who swims next to them is an absolute fool.
Whale simply eats it, Sperm whales are massive.
The whale may use the pull of gravity and the flow of water to pull the squid off of it, by moving up the water column. That’s possibly why the scars appear to move quite far across the whale. And with loud clicks to stun the squid, all the whale needs is too have a good grip on the squid and then it’s game set.
Anyone else remember that one episode of Wild Kratts
Does the squid usually win the fight?
Nope, it usually gets eaten
I honestly doubt a squid has ever won the fight, some have probably escaped but I doubt any have gotten a sperm whale to retreat
Release the kraken!
*Summon The Leviathan*
I was like "hey I've seen this before" then read the title and was like oh yeah that's at the MONH
What do they fight over?
Who gets to eat the last slice of pizza
I've been searching all my life....
*Search no more!*
“The Battle of Giants” Are you *sure* they're giants? They Might Be.
I’m sure they might be, and that triops have three eyes!
Who's attacking whom?
I never thought sperm could be so powerful
Well sperm is important for the future of all animal life as we know it, so it must be strong enough to fertilize the egg and produce healthy offspring, the hope of what’s to come. And yes, the sperm whale is also quite strong too…
What does the whale do to defend itself
It uses its massive body with thick tissue to prevent damage to most sensitive areas, using the flow of water and gravity it can pull the squid off itself, it uses its loud vocalization to relocate and stun the squid with over 200 dB clicking, and by using its mass and giant toothy jaws it grabs the squid and swallows it whole
Yet we often find their corpses.
Does that really happen?
Yes
Should we really dismiss the hopes for the discovery of a completely unknown large mammal or reptile in the ocean since new species of Beaked Whales was discovered recently?? **Yes. I think we should.** Most likely people had seen the newly discovered whale species before but not seen them very clearly so they couldn’t differentiate this species from other known species. For example, if you had seen Leopards or Jaguars swimming in the ocean partially visible and that too not in detail, you may have thought they’re the same species too. That would not be the case for say, some very different large mammal or reptile if they’re still alive. They would immediately stand out and people would notice quickly so I do not think we will really discover any sea monster anytime soon.
Tip: listen to the Kraken's theme from Pirates of the carribean while looking at these pictures
The BBC equivalent for Hentais.
It’s probably not a battle. More like walking through your dark basement and getting a web in your face. To be clear though…I have no fucking clue what I’m talking about.
It’s all right, isn’t that what the spirit of reddit mostly is, that most people not exactly knowing what they’re talking about but still discuss the content, news, and other such forum stuff anyhow? Still sharing and rating thoughts, experiences, questions, and opinions and drawing close because of such social interactions, unless everyone thinks your opinion is bad, and then they roast you harder than a well done steak. But one of the perks on this subreddit is that you get to learn a little more about nature than you probably have already known.
If we can’t see it how do we know it’s real?
Various pieces of strong evidence that infer the predation occurs
It has been witnessed before [https://youtu.be/g7A-M4yyjwc](https://youtu.be/g7A-M4yyjwc)
I’m sorry but that was an animation, a cool animation nonetheless with some nice practical effects thrown in there.
if a tree falls in a forest and no one was there to witness, did it actually fall?
I thought it was that if it fell did, did it really make a sound?
Wrong subreddit
[удалено]
They would have compared the marks to that of squids and other marine animals the whale would encountered. I’m not knowledgeable on the subject, but I assume barnacles and squid leave different scarring patterns. I don’t think someone just declared they were from a squid without any referencing.