Scientists went on a hunt for the elusive colossal squid — and brought cruise ship tourists with them

Mon, 04/15/2024 - 15:10

A man in a plaid shirt and vest looks at a large container holding a colossal squid — In 2014, a fishing vessel caught a colossal squid, which New Zealand researchers dissected.
Marty Melville/AFP via Getty Images

Kolossal hopes to film a colossal squid in its natural habitat, the waters around Antarctica.
The squid is large but elusive and difficult to study since it lives thousands of feet underwater.
Using Antarctic tourist boats made searching for the squid far more cost-effective.

Over the course of four trips, tourists on an Antarctic cruise ship watched researchers lower a camera into the frigid, icy waters of the Southern Ocean. They had the same question every day: "Did you find it yet?"