Whale may have battled giant squid
From the Esperance Express comes this squid related story:
Whale may have battled giant squid
Louise Bettison
Friday, 28 April 2006AFTER spending several days getting up close and personal with the whale carcass at Thistle Cove, marine researchers and Recherche Advisory Group members John Totterdill and Dave Riggs say it bears many battle scars, including evidence of an attack by its favourite meal.
According to Mr Riggs, the carcass appears to be merely the head and neck of a “truly massive” bull sperm whale.
He estimates the original body length at 15-17m, with a weight of 50 tonnes and an age of around 50 years.
“Bull sperm whales tend to feed in the deep waters adjacent to our continental shelf, their preferred diet being giant squid known as Architeuthis,” Mr Riggs said.
“A myriad of circular scars are located all across the whale’s snout, visual proof of its predation on unwilling Architeuthis and most of the scars are 2.5-3cm in diameter, suggesting this animal preyed upon squid weighing 200-300kg.”
Cape Le Grand National Park acting senior ranger Peter Masters said he hadn’t yet had a chance to study the whale carcass in detail, but wouldn’t rule out the idea of it having had a tangle with a giant squid.
“It’s always possible - I’ll have a good look up-close later on and take some pictures for the records, then we’ll be able to have a better idea of what happened to it,” Mr Masters said.