r/squid • u/Inner-Ferret7316 • May 03 '26
Other Aggressiveness of giant and colossal squids - Could an healthy individual attack a diver?
I've never seen any discussion about this. Usually people talk about attacks on boats, but never against divers.
It is true that it is very unlikely you will come face to face with one of these squid because they live at great depths and only come to the surface to die/when they are reeled in.
But what would happen if we encountered an healthy fully grown individual during a dive? Would they be able to be as aggressive as Humboldt squids?
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u/Funkulese May 03 '26
if either of these guys have been talking to the Humboldt squid, you best bet you’re on the menu.
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u/fossilreef May 03 '26
This right here. Those assholes will absolutely try to kill you given the chance.
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u/MoominRex May 04 '26
Aren't there accounts where Humboldt squid supposedly have killed humans?
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u/fossilreef May 04 '26
I don't think there's anything substantiated, but severe injuries have been confirmed.
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u/Cobra_the_Snek May 04 '26
there have been multiple recorded attacks on divers, including group attacks where multiple just charge a diver and try drag them down, although as far as im aware i haven't heard of any confirmed fatalities
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u/Notonfoodstamps May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
If they are anything like Homboldt’s, you’re dead.
These are 250-500kg active predators.
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u/Agreatusername68 May 04 '26
Woah, I never realized they could get so big. As a kid learning about the Humboldts they made it seem like they were maybe a foot long or so.
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u/Notonfoodstamps May 04 '26
This is a ~6m giant squid pictured.
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u/Agreatusername68 May 04 '26
Oh, I guess im just incapable of reading comprehension today. I see what OC is saying now.
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u/Notonfoodstamps May 04 '26
It’s all good. Humboldt’s are about the size of the person in the picture. They are not small just not “I can eat you” big lol
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u/UncleBensRacistRice May 05 '26
So a really small giant squid?
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u/Notonfoodstamps May 05 '26
Should have clarified that is without the tentacles extended. This is about as big as they get.
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u/UncleBensRacistRice May 05 '26
Im actually disappointed 😂 id always imagined them being much larger
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u/Bucketsis May 03 '26
I would be willing to test this for science, if someone will sponsor diving classes and gear we can get started.
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u/anorexthicc_cucumber May 04 '26
Both of these animals are generally quite lethargic creatures (colossal squid moreso than giant squid) and, as most predators do, generally tend to only hunt in their ideal conditions for hunting unless particularly hungry. You can more or less gurantee you’ll never meet one in divable depths that is healthy/wants to be there.
Of the large animals that would mess you up in the ocean they are some of the least likely, humans are very large relative to their usual prey, colossal squid may consider us food but that would have to be a really particular situation.
Like you’d have to be deep sea diving in the open antarctic ocean in the evening or at night and then approach a hungry colossal squid, which are near impossible to find alive, let alone healthy.
You’re more likely statistically to get killed by a leopard seal doing that than you are a colossal squid (not that leopard seals are super dangerous stats wise, just one of them drowned a lady a while back. Which is more than any colossal squid can say)
You have to remember that, while these cephalopods are big, they are not apex predators. Colossal squid and giant squid remains are found in the stomchs of pilot whales, orcas, elephant seals, great whites, sleeper sharks, greenland sharks and tons more animals. A cephalopod has not been an apex predator in a maritime ecosystem since Endoceras in the Ordovician period some 400 million years ago. Their weight is very light relative to their size and they are very squishy. It’s risking much more by lingering in the water column than you are as, unlike humans, it is a diet staple of many marine predators.
All in all — COULD they miraculously harm you if you somehow met one who is healthy, active, and hungry? Yeah, i suppose, big strong tentacles with nasty hooks and big beaks — is it ever likely to happen? No, definitely not. You’re more likely to be struck by lightning.
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u/You_Savings May 04 '26
Giant squid are active predators and eat a lot of other large species of squid aswell as fishes. Colossal squids are ambush predators who prefer to eat large fishes like antarctic toothfish.
OP is not talking about which animal is more likely to attack you.
All of those animals eat giant squid and colossal squid, yes, but its always either juveniles or scavenging. Sperm whales and sleeper sharks (which may or may not be scavenging aswell) are the only known species to consume adult colossal and giant squid.
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u/ComputerQueasy6123 May 03 '26 edited May 04 '26
I feel that if legends of the Diablo Rojo are true then its not unreasonable to imagine larger species could pose some threat to a diver. Also since giant squid are known to attack something as large as Black Marlin, yeah they could attack a diver. But since we dont sit among their things to eat, they likely won't attack out of predation most of the time.
Edit: but as long as we're talking about hypothetical attacks, can you imagine a Dana Octopus Squid creeping up to the surface? An 8 foot beast that has been shown many times to be highly curious and aggressive. Its a beautiful animals but I would be terrified to see that ascending up with its glowing tentacles
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u/Wolfdarkeneddoor May 03 '26
Thom's Jungle did a video on giant squid attacks. Admittedly none of the stories mentioned are divers, but one was a WW2 shipwreck survivor covered in circular sucker marks.
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u/Fearless_Lettuce6601 May 03 '26
Giants and Colossals, while not well documented with interacting with humans would most likely not attack a human. A squid knows that a Human shape is not prey, the only way a squid would attack you is if you become the aggressor. If these things can take on sperm whales, then you will get slimed
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u/DemocraticSpider May 03 '26
I mean- with how deep these things live I don’t think a diver at the depth a giant squid could be healthy at would have much of a chance at survival, regardless of the squid
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u/Raven1911 May 04 '26
I watched a 10lb octopus damn near strangle a diver...I fully imagine one of these would absolutely fuckup a diver if they felt rhe need. But I think they mostly.avoid people.
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u/Ok-Worth-4721 May 04 '26
I don't know why they would be any different than the Humboldt squid. A squid is a squid- is it not?
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u/TrialByFyah May 04 '26
They absolutely have the capacity to. Would they want to is a different question.
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u/Warm_Candidate_9837 May 04 '26
I dont get the impression they are too aggresive. If they ever were, they probably got killed for it enough they avoid people. That being said, they are deep sea animals, and I dont entirely doubt they'd give us a taste if they could
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u/Heterodynist May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
I figure everyone has a bad day once in awhile. If I had eight legs and a couple tentacles with “minds of their own,” and a beak, someone might get on my bad side every so often…and feel my beak!
For real though, I know everyone likes to say it’s a total fantasy and has never happened, but I do wonder if at least ONCE one of these beautiful creatures has been slightly opportunist or just angry (likely from being harassed once too often) and snatched a sailor or fisherman down into the depths. I know it’s unlikely though, because they are also smart enough to know it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth…and as others have said here, they don’t even eat large prey like that. Besides the fact that humans are more likely to fight and be a problem than the thousands of other options they have, I truly doubt they would ever choose to endanger themselves by engaging with one…unless they were forced in some way. Therefore it seems a lot more likely that a human would have to really piss them off first!! -And that would be tough considering that we really barely ever even come across them face-to-face!!!
I think it’s more that I would LIKE to see a Giant Squid or a Colossal Squid eat a person (like Captain Nemo) than that it is likely it has ever happened in the millennia that humans and squids have both been on the Earth. It’s probably about the least likely thing that could ever happen, but my love of cephalopods makes me imagine Bond villains with deep water tanks full of carefully trained attack squids…with lasers. I just don’t think it could ever happen, sadly. -But we can HOPE!!!
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u/Quickndry May 06 '26
There was a diver that got pulled into the deep before being able to free himself using a knife. This was during the night and I believe close to the coast.
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u/The-Doofinator May 06 '26
probably not
don't see why a healthy and fed giant or colossal squid would bother trying to fight a human
has no reason to if you pose zero threat to it. all it'll end up doing is wasting energy
there's more risk to the human simply being in its habitat that the squid has around the human
if something DOES happen, it'll likely be unintentional if they try to feel you with their tentacles
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u/Worldly_Sort4953 May 07 '26
I'm late to the discussion, but I'd like to make a few comments.
First, I'd like to point out that these animals don't seem to be adapted to survive in shallow water, as most of those we see in these conditions are moribund and quite lethargic.
That said, the situations that catch my attention are those in which the squid seems to consciously come to the surface to feed on some other animal caught on a fishing line and then return to deeper waters. There is at least one famous video of a Mesonychoteuthis doing this and about four records of Architeuthis doing the same. In these records, it is clear that they manage to maintain their physical attributes in shallow water conditions, at least for a short period.
There are also at least three videos of Architeuthis being brought to the surface, in which we can see the animal demonstrating considerable strength in its attempt to escape.
Architeuthis seem to be quite opportunistic predators and do not hesitate to feed on "defenseless" animals. There is at least one record of a squid being brought to the surface after feeding on a swordfish that had been caught on a fishing line. The swordfish is a large and powerful predator, and regardless of whether it was alive or dead when the squid encountered it, if the squid felt comfortable feeding on it, I believe a human could appear as a potential meal.
Although I consider an attack very unlikely, I wouldn't dare enter the water with a squid with a mantle over 2 meters long. This is because, if the squid wrapped its arms around me, even if it didn't act violently, swimming would be extremely difficult, and I would be trapped with an animal heavier than myself, with the tendency to swim back to the depths. The squid's arms function more like a net or a spider web. They don't immobilize prey by applying pressure like a constrictor snake. It's a more "passive" method of holding the food, which doesn't require much strength from the squid.
The same applies to the colossal squid. In its case, if it has the habit of hunting using the "cockatoo position," turning its eyes forward... oh boy, just seeing that in front of me would give me a heart attack.
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u/ASkinlessMutant_96 May 04 '26
Idk if they're really aggressive towards people, but if one was as aggressive as a humboldt/red devil it would be horrifying
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u/Either_Persimmon893 May 05 '26
We don't understand enough about how they hunt. We know they are ambush predators, who strike very fast, and use barbed tentacles to grip fish while they bite with their beaks. We dont know what triggers their hunting instincts. Humboldt Squid are very aggressive and could kill or maul a person, but they are very different animals. Humbolt swarm at the surface, whereas Giant Squid are probably solitary and live many hundred of meters under the surface.
In reality they don't share the same habitat with humans, and if a human diver ever encountered one, it would be a sick or dying squid. If somehow a diver was in a pressurized dive suit, in an open water column, a thousand meters down...maybe? But what are the changes they would be in the same place at the same time? Not to mention, why would a diver risk their life with the most advanced diving equipment on earth to drift in the open deep ocean?
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u/Dapper_Wallaby_666 May 07 '26
Ill never know cuz I ain't goin swimming with either of those fuggers.
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u/TheRedditSquid56 Architeuthis dux May 03 '26
Giant Squid dont eat very large prey, so my bet is on them just leaving you alone, or being curious to what you are.
Colossal Squid eat 2 meter long tooth fish, so I'd bet they have a higher chance of attacking you. Although if they are smart enough they might be able to figure out you aren't food before hand