Rare Sighting Of A Giant Squid In Japan

Published January 1, 2016 at 1:52 PM EST

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Last week, an apparently healthy 12-foot giant squid surfaced in a marina in Japan and swam with divers, who videotaped the squid before leading it out to sea. (Screengrab/CNN YouTube)

Giant squid can get as big as 45 feet in length, and inhabit the deeper regions of the ocean. They rarely surface, and so scientists often must study the species through the examination of dead squid which have washed ashore.

But last week, an apparently healthy 12-foot giant squid surfaced in a marina in Japan and swam with divers, who videotaped the squid before leading it out to sea.

Here & Now’s Robin Young talks with Clyde Roper, “the world’s foremost authority on giant squid,” from the National Museum of Natural History.

Guest

Clyde Roper, research zoologist emeritus at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.