Giant Squid Linkfest

To get you prepped for the large unleashing of Discovery Channel’s Looking for the Giant Squid this Sunday below is all the required reading.

First the background on the video

The giant squid has been captured on video in its natural habitat for the first time ever.  This long-sought after footage — considered by many to be the Holy Grail of natural history filmmaking — will be revealed by Discovery Channel and NHK in January 2013…This massive predator has always been shrouded in secrecy, and every attempt to capture a live giant squid on camera in its natural habitat has failed. Until now. Mankind finally confronts the greatest mystery of the deep as the first-ever footage of a live giant squid in its natural habitat is revealed in Discovery Channel’s Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real, which premieres on Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 10/9c as the season finale of Curiosity. NHK will air their special on the first-ever footage of the giant squid in early January 2013.

Also read over my post to understand this video in the context of other recent encounters with giant squid.

Want to see a hint of what Discovery Channel might reveal?

Here’s my post (Giant Squid=Awesomesauce) that will give you everything you want to know about giant squids.

And of course not only is Discovery continuing on with the Monster terminology but so are others.  Read here on why this pisses me off.

Arikia Millikin provides some background on this amazing event (and of course I would shamelessly plug it as I’m mentioned relatively early on).  Best quote is Steve O’Shea stating “we all have to be a little bit crazy to do this”

Every wonder why of all the ocean’s creatures we picked the giant squid to grace our banner and brand the DSN media empire?  In this post, I detail out why giant squids should be a emblem for marine conservation. “What is the emblematic species of the ocean that will serve to energize and unite us?”

Brian Switek provides some perspective on the balance between the actual giant squid and the images invoked when culturally reference them

How do you get a giant squid?  With a big lighted lure apparently.  Here is old video from National Geographic about using bioluminescence to attract a giant squid.

And finally what about some photographs of a sperm whale eating a giant squid?