The Great Sea Monster Mystery

For thousands of years, sailors have told stories of sea monsters. Some were huge beasts. They grabbed sailors with their giant arms and ate them. They pulled ships down to the bottom of the sea. 

The most famous was a squid-like monster called the kraken. Some said it was larger than a whale. Some said it was stronger than an elephant.

For years, scientists didn’t believe these stories. They thought they were just tall tales—stories that are exaggerated to make them more interesting. This all changed in 1873. 

Sailors have told stories of sea monsters for years. The most famous was a squid-like beast. It was called the kraken. Scientists didn’t believe the stories. This changed in 1873.

The fisherman’s tentacle was a piece of evidence. It proved that the kraken, or something like it, was real! Scientists guessed the tentacle was from a kind of squid. 

Squid are sea animals. They each have eight arms and two tentacles. Most aren’t very big.

But the fisherman’s tentacle was 19 feet long. This new creature had to be huge. Scientists had a question. Why hadn’t more people found these giant squid?

Sailors have told stories of sea monsters for years. The most famous was a squid-like beast. It was called the kraken. Scientists didn’t believe the stories. This changed in 1873.

The fisherman’s tentacle was a piece of evidence. It proved that the kraken, or something like it, was real! Scientists guessed the tentacle was from a kind of squid.

Squid are sea animals. They each have eight arms and two tentacles. Most aren’t very big.

But the fisherman’s tentacle was 19 feet long. This new creature had to be huge. Scientists had a question. Why hadn’t more people found these giant squid?

The fisherman showed the tentacle to scientists. The experts studied it carefully. The tentacle was a clear piece of evidence. It proved that the kraken—or something like the kraken—was real! Part of the mystery was solved. Experts guessed that the tentacle belonged to a type of squid.

Squid are sea animals with soft bodies. They each have eight arms and two tentacles. Most squid are found all over the ocean, and they aren’t very big.

The fisherman’s tentacle was enormous, though. It was long enough to stretch to the top of a two-story building. This new creature had to be huge. Scientists were puzzled. They wondered: Why hadn’t more people found these giant animals?

The fisherman showed the tentacle to scientists. The scientists studied it. The tentacle was a piece of evidence. It proved that the kraken, or something like it, was real! Part of the mystery was solved. The scientists guessed the tentacle was from a kind of squid.

Squid are sea animals with soft bodies. They each have eight arms and two tentacles. Squid can be found all over the ocean. Most squid aren’t very big.

But the fisherman’s tentacle was 19 feet long. It was long enough to stretch to the top of a two-story building. This new creature had to be huge. Scientists had a question. Why hadn’t more people found these giant squid?

Over time, scientists learned more about the creature we now call the giant squid. Experts learned that giant squid truly are giant. They have the biggest eyes of any animal. They can weigh 1,000 pounds and be almost 60 feet long. That’s longer than a school bus!

Experts also learned why giant squid are so hard to find. The creatures live thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean. For a long time, people weren’t able to go that deep under the sea. 

This changed in the 1960s. Oceanographers finally had the tools to go thousands of feet underwater. They saw wonders no one had ever seen before. There were eyeless fish and human-sized worms!

Teams of scientists formed “squid squads” to look for giant squid. But no one saw the elusive animal.

Over time, scientists learned more about the creature. We now call it the giant squid. Giant squid truly are giant. They have the biggest eyes of any animal. They can weigh 1,000 pounds. They can be almost 60 feet long. That’s longer than a school bus!

Scientists also learned why giant squid are so hard to find. The creatures live thousands of feet underwater. For a long time, people weren’t able to go that deep under the sea.

This changed in the 1960s. Oceanographers finally had the tools to go thousands of feet underwater. They saw amazing wonders. They saw fish without eyes. There were human-sized worms!

Teams of scientists created “squid squads.” They looked for giant squid. But no one saw the elusive animal.

Over time, scientists learned more about giant squid. They can be almost 60 feet long. That’s longer than a school bus!

Giant squid live thousands of feet underwater. Nobody had been to that part of the ocean. In the 1960s, scientists went deep under the sea. They looked for giant squid. But no one saw the animals.

Years passed. Every so often, more clues to the mystery would appear. Dead creatures with long arms would wash up on beaches. Giant tentacles would get caught in fishing nets. But still, no one found a live giant squid.

Then, on a dark night in 2003, a giant squid was seen again. This time, it attacked a ship full of sailors. The boat rattled and shook. The sailors ran up and down the deck, shining flashlights into the water.

Then they saw it: An enormous, slimy arm wrapped itself around the ship. The sailors thought the boat would snap into pieces. But then the creature was gone. 

Years passed. Every so often, there were more clues to the mystery. Dead creatures would wash up on beaches. These creatures had long arms. Giant tentacles would get caught in fishing nets. But still, no one found a live giant squid.

Then, a giant squid was seen again. It was a dark night in 2003. The squid went after a ship full of sailors. The boat shook. The sailors ran up and down the deck. They shined flashlights into the water.

Then they saw it. A huge, slimy arm wrapped itself around the ship. The sailors thought the boat would break into pieces. But then the creature was gone.

A year later, a team of scientists had an idea. They learned that some whales eat giant squid. They followed a group of these whales, hoping the whales might lead them to a giant squid.

The scientists sent a camera deep underwater. Then they waited, hoping a giant squid was nearby.

Finally, they saw something. It was longer than a school bus. Its eyes were as big as basketballs. It had eight long arms and two tentacles. It was a giant squid! 

The creature waved its tentacles wildly. The camera snapped more than 500 pictures. Scientists finally had photos of a live giant squid!

A year later, a team of scientists had an idea. They learned that some whales eat giant squid. They followed a group of these whales. They hoped the whales might lead them to a giant squid.

The scientists sent a camera deep underwater. Then they waited. They hoped a giant squid was nearby.

Finally, they saw something. It was longer than a school bus. Its eyes were as big as basketballs. It had eight long arms and two tentacles. It was a giant squid!

The creature waved its tentacles wildly. The camera snapped more than 500 pictures. Scientists finally had photos of a live giant squid!

Since then, more people have seen giant squid. We now have videos of the creatures too. Scientists continue to learn more about these incredible animals. But they still have so many questions. How many giant squid are there? How old do they get? How deep in the ocean can they go? 

There is so much more to learn about giant squid—and the ocean. The ocean is a giant underwater world. Most of it still hasn’t been explored. Experts say there are more mysterious creatures just waiting to be discovered. Maybe you’ll be the one to find them!

Since then, more people have seen the giant squid. We now have videos of the creatures too. Scientists keep learning more about these incredible animals. But they still have so many questions. How many giant squid are there? How old do they get? How deep in the ocean can they go?

There is so much more to learn about giant squid—and the ocean. The ocean is a giant underwater world. Most of it still hasn’t been explored. Experts say there are more mysterious creatures just waiting to be discovered. Maybe you’ll be the one to find them!

Scientists learned that some whales eat giant squid. This gave them an idea. In 2004, they followed the whales. They hoped the whales would lead them to a giant squid.

The idea worked! Scientists sent a camera underwater. It found something longer than a school bus. It was a giant squid! The camera took more than 500 pictures.

Since then, other people have seen giant squid. We’ve learned more about the animal. But we still have questions. How many giant squid are there? How deep in the ocean can they go? We have a lot to learn about the ocean too. Experts say more mysterious creatures are out there. Maybe you’ll be the one to find them!