Posted by Kimberly Hundley, Squid Gal

Do you remember last year’s news about the first-ever colossal squid caught alive? The specimen was frozen and brought to New Zealand for scientific study. Last night, the Discovery Channel’s long-awaited documentary about the unprecedented catch/dissection aired. I was curious whether this squid would look at all tasty, despite tiger-like teeth rotating on the tentacles.

The short answer is no. The long answer is I indeed craved calamari when the scientists first sliced a few snowy pieces from the mantle. But the process got nasty quickly. Turns out nothing goes bad faster than an unfrozen calamari. Brave the photos if you dare: Squid in a Tub. It may be a couple days before I can dig in again.

I also resented the lead scientist moaning about how the squid was a girl instead of a boy. “I really wanted a boy,” he whined discovering a massive egg sack. Earlier, he’d interpreted a weird-shaped tentacle as a squid penis, and nearly cried with joy. Little is known of the wily male squid, he explained.

Hatin’ on the She-Squid

This morning, I read an update written last week for the National Geographic News, with this summary: “…the largest squid ever caught was ‘a giant, gelatinous blob,’ sluggish and highly vulnerable to predators, a squid expert who dissected the specimen said last week.”

The article also said the she-squid was “an egg-producing machine, which—like most squid—would probably have given birth once before dying, said Steve O’Shea of New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology”

Is there no awe and respect for this poor blob that was literally carrying on her species? Jeesh. I don’t think any of the scientists were women, actually.