A woman was stunned to find a giant squid washed up on the beach.
The huge sea creature was found on Long Beach in Kommetjie, South Africa at 7 a.m. on Saturday (30 April) by local Ali Paulus.
She immediately took pictures of the body – showing the tangled tentacles and large size of the cephalopod, which measured around 2.2 metres long without its arms extended.
The squid appears to have suffered an injury, with a gash above its tentacle – which Ali guesses was caused by a boat propeller.
Giant squids are one of the most elusive creatures on the planet, living at depths between 300-1,000 metres and rarely coming to the surface.
Sightings in the region are rare, with the last known coming in Cape Town in 2020, when a baby giant squid washed up on a beach.
Sharing the shots on Instagram, Ali said: “Giant Squid – Long Beach Kommetjie. Seems there is not too much known about these creatures. Limited consensus over the number of species.
“Estimates of species across the genus vary. At least three distinct species exist, but there could be many more. The global distribution is wide and consistent with this sighting.
“Looks like this poor guy got taken out by a propeller.”
One person commented: “Incredible find but very sad for such an amazing animal. Lovely photos as always.”
“Wow. This is incredible. Sad for the Squid,” said another user.
Someone else said: “Oh my word what a sighting. Poor [squid emoji].”
“What an amazing experience!” another user added.
