Giant Squid Pic

September 30, 2004 - It was on this day that Japanese researchers captured the very first photographs of the mysterious giant squid in the wild.

Up until now scientists had to rely on dead specimens that were found washed up on beaches or inside the stomachs of whales. This was the first time the elusive beast of the deep was photographed in action.

To get the shot, the researchers attached a bag of mashed-up shrimp to a fishing line that they dropped 2,950 feet into the Pacific. A camera was pointed at the bait and it snapped over 500 images of the giant squid wrapping its tentacles around its meal.

One of the creature's appendages became stuck on a fishing hook, and as the squid struggled to get free, the tentacle was torn off. Scientists were able to retrieve the 18-foot chunk of calamari and from its size they estimate the squid to have been at least 25 feet long.

The largest squid ever found was 59 feet long.