A very serious question....

[Saber-Psycho]

In actuality, how scared are you of......"Man-Eating Squid?"
After seeing "Killer Squid" on the Discovery Channel, I'm curious to see, are you really that scared?

Poll will follow...

[noodle]

killer squid?
not until they learn to walk on land

double posts, however...

[Dork_Archangel]

Holy crap... Ok, chalk up another species on my "To nuke," list, after humans, lemmings and Jehovah's witnesses.

[LUDICROUS]

I'm not scared. Im not a beachy guy, or a watery guy. But, being kileld by a giant squid would go down in history....

"hey, you hear about Paul? " "no, what happened?" "EATEN BY A GIANT SQUID!"

"WHOAH!"

[AndrastVitesse]

Giant Squid Rock!!!

[Kismet]

Ruuuuuuunnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!

Well, that's what I voted.

But really? I swim in the ocean all the time. I couldn't care less about the things. So really, I'm not scared of them at all. I'm not scared of sharks, either. Or puffer fish. Except if you are snorkeling and a puffer fish decides to puff up right in front of you, it is wise to get away. (and yes, this happened to me while snorkeling in Hawaii).

[Gav]

I can't believe that I took part in that poll... considering that giant squid are benthic organisms your hances of meeting [an alive] one are ... nil. Or there abouts. Get a grip people.

[drippingwet]

What's the difference between a squid who kills for food and a human who kills for food? You don't get polls in the animal kingdom asking "how scared are you of squid-eating humans?" I never heard a squid commenting on how terryfing fishing nets are, or those scary dentures that granny Smith is gonna use to tear you apart.

I remember seeing a programme about cuttle fish, or was it squid Sea of Cortez springs to mind. Anyway, in one part they seemed really violent, and in another part, they seemed really gentle. The issue may have been the fishing/fishing methods causing them to turn nasty.

Is this giant squid we're talking about?

"Stay away from humans, they'll turn you into a plate of rings"

[Capt. Slo-mo]

The killer squid S-P is talking about are not the giant squid of legend, but very real 4-6 footers called Humboldt squid.

These are very voracious feeders, and have been known to take a bite out of humans. With a swimming/propulsion speed of 20 knots, 32,000+ teeth imbedded in their suckers plus a cutting beak the size of an eagle's in their ravenous maws...it's not as much of laughing matter as it might seem.

Just when you thought it was safe to go swimming in the Sea of Cortez at dusk.......

[wildmoppet]

I think they're cool! They can be 20m long (65ft) and their undigested 'beaks' are often found in the bellies of wales! I think thats cool, anyone else? Or is it just me...

[wildmoppet]

They found beached bodies and stuff of that size
/proof; here's a little one.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_199865.html

[ThatReallyHurt]

I dunno - all those pictures of squid pulling entire ships under the water... who wants to take the chance of running into one of those things unprepared?

That's why I always carry a Swiss Army knife. You know, just in case.

[Tazz]

I can't really say I have ever been scared of being attacked by a giant squid... I have never actually heard of anyone being attacked by a giant squid. Arent they like, only found really deep in the ocean?
Shark's on the other hand scare me to death. I live close to beaches filled with sharks

[ThatReallyHurt]

Squid will only attack you if they can see that you don't have a Swiss Army knife with you. They can tell if you have one pretty easily, on account of their HUGE UNBLINKING EYES...

[Tazz]

Squids have eyes?!?

[ThatReallyHurt]

You betcha. Really big ones for their size, too.

[Tazz]

OH right, Squids! I was thinking about octopuses. Um... octopuses don't have eyes do they?

[Zilverzmurfen]

You don't get polls in the animal kingdom

And there's the answer to your question!

[ThatReallyHurt]

OH right, Squids! I was thinking about octopuses. Um... octopuses don't have eyes do they?

I think they do... but if they don't, they certainly have enough arms to grope around with.

[lochinvar]

Yes, octopuses have eyes. Very good ones, in fact.

I've always been fascinated by the Giant Squid. Much of what we know of them is the result of the whaling industry--squid remains are commonly found in the bellies of sperm whales, indicating that squid is a good portion of the whale's normal diet.

However, certain scarring on sperm whale carcasses has also led to wondering exactly who is hunting whom in the whale/squid equation...

Quite fascinating.