The Deep-Sea Monster
have both suckers and sucker rings which can
help grab onto prey by sticking to them. Their
tentacles can grow longer than 30 feet.
The giant squid’s suckers are connected to the
tentacles and arms. Did you know that they have
teeth? The teeth in the suckers help grab onto
prey and kill them so the squid can eat them
easily. Scars have been found on a sperm whale
from the suckers of the giant squid.
Interacting with Other Animals
Instead of passing by fish and other animals,
giant squid catch them for food. They do have a
big appetite.
Giant squid are meat-eaters, so they eat animals
that live in the sea, not plants. For example, they
can eat:
Shrimp
Fish
Other squid
Once in awhile sperm whales
Giant squid can easily catch food because
of their size. Even though they seem like they
aggressively hunt prey, they actually preserve
energy and wait patiently to catch it.
You should already know that they can catch
small animals, but did you know they can grab
prey as long as 33 feet long? They just need to use
their suckers and arms to grab on.
Although giant squid scare other animals
away or eat them, even they can be eaten! Every
year, more than 4.3 million giant squid get eaten
by other animals. Their mortal enemy is the
sperm whale, which measures almost 40 feet.
Giant squid are often eaten by sperm whales, not
the other way around. Even if animals can see
them or eat them, it doesn’t mean that humans
can easily.
Giant Squid vs. Humans
Giant squid are rarely seen or caught on camera.
That’s because it’s hard for scientists to locate
This is a giant squid attempting to eat a sperm
whale, but sometimes the sperm whale wins the fight.
The giant squid’s mortal enemy, the sperm whale, is
trying to eat the giant squid it was battling.
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