Terrifying Monster Arms

For more than two thousand years, sea legends talked about enormous octopus or squid tentacles that came out of the depths to seize ships. These colossal arms inspired fear, and have maintained a certain level fascination towards marine monsters.

As well, the giant squid has long existed only in human imagination. Stories say that a huge black eye stared at seamen. People believed it came directly from hell! AAfter many hazardous captures and groundings, most notably in Newfoundland and Labrador, the legend of the giant squid became reality. However this elusive giant, most often hidden in the great ocean depths, continues to mesmerize scientists. In 2004, a Japanese research team finally filmed a giant squid in its natural habitat for the very first time. In 2006, the same scientists caught and filmed another gigantic specimen.

Around 1860, dozens of seafarers sailing the Grand Banks of Newfoundland spoke of huge beasts surfacing at sea. Between 1871 and 1881, tens of giant squid groundings occurred along its provincial coasts. People were finally able to take a closer look at the one called the Devil Fish.

Sailors feared giant squids with good reason. Whalers frequently observed sperm whales wounded with deep scars around the head or on the tongue.

In 1861, the Alecton’s sailors tried – in vain – to pull aboard a giant squid sighted on the surface of the Atlantic. The ship’s captain accurately described the monster in an article published by the French newspaper L’Illustration. This event inspired Jules Verne and was adopted in his classic tale, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Giant squid found near the village of Harbour Main in Newfoundland’s Conception Bay, in 1935.

The North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is the largest known species of its kind. When its eight arms are extended, the largest males can reach a span of around 5 meters (16 ft) in length.
Giant octopuses hunt during the day and night. They usually feed on crustaceans or seashells, captured with their arms and kept immobile with their suctions cups. Then, the octopus will either pull its prey apart or drill a hole in the shell of mollusks and inject a powerful saliva that turns the meat to a jelly which can be then easily swallowed.

Octopuses have the amazing ability to camouflage themselves! From bright red to sandy beige, their skin can change color or texture instantly to match the sea bottom, or to scare off predators.

In Greek mythology, jellyfish were known as hideous and malignant creatures. Whoever looked one in the eye would die petrified.

Today, some giant jellyfish still invade the world’s seas, to the detriment of other marine species. A fisherman’s nightmare, they break nets under their weight, and injure fish with bites, thus reducing their commercial value. Swimmers are sometimes terrified by their presence, because their stinging tentacles can cause serious burns.

LION'S MANE JELLYFISH

The long lion’s mane jellyfish’s trail of tentacles can reach up to 35 meters (115 ft) in length. This jellyfish is extremely irritant. It may cause burns and even provoke apnea.

The leatherback turtle is a widespread reptile living in all of the world’s oceans. In Canada, it can be found in the St. Lawrence River, off Maritime Provinces, near Baffin Island, and as far as British Columbia.

The leatherback turtle holds the record as the largest reptile on the planet! It can measure up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in length, and can weigh up to 900 kilograms (1984 lbs)!

The leatherback turtle gets its name from its shell, seven narrow ridges made of a thick cartilage covered with tough skin, being similar to that of leather.