BrainStuff Classics: Could a Giant Squid Take Down a Submarine?

Tales of squid attacking ships go way back, and there are some known instances of squid attacking subs, but could a cephalopod really take down a modern vessel? Learn what researchers think in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/squid-attack-submarine.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff, Lauren
vogelbomb here with a classic episode of the podcast. A
giant squid are legendary, and it's easy to understand why
such beautifully unhuman, sort of eldritch creatures have inspired so
many stories. But could a giant squid really take down

(00:25):
a ship or submarine? Hey Brainstuff, Lauren vogelbomb here. About
three hundred different species of squid have been swimming in
the world's oceans for more than four hundred million years.
There are three species that grow to massive proportions, the giant,
the colossal, and the jumbo, also known as the Humboldt squid.

(00:45):
While many squid are just a few inches long, giant
and colossal squid are enormous. These two types are estimated
to reach from thirty five to sixty feet in length
that's about ten to eighteen meters including their body and tentacles.
That's larger than a full length school bus, and they
can weigh up to a thousand pounds or about four
hundred and fifty kilograms. Their protruding eyes are the size

(01:06):
of volleyballs. Humboldt squid are the smallest of the three
only about six feet that's two meters long and one
hundred pounds or forty five kilograms. But how did these
marine animals get so big? The most common explanation is
a phenomenon called deep sea gigantism. The theory suggests that
over time, small shallow water creatures evolved to live at

(01:27):
vast deep sea levels by getting bigger, likely due to
a combination of food supply and the increased size of
the predators at great depths. In shallow waters, it's advantageous
to stay small because there's limited food. But at the
extreme depths, where massive squid are thought to live between
about six hundred and fifty and two thousand, six hundred
feet that's about two hundred to seven hundred meters below

(01:49):
the surface, bigger creatures have size and endurance on their
side when traveling longer distances in search of food. When
you're a small fish in a large pond, you're a snack.
But if you're the bigh you have your choice of snacks.
But is the whole ocean there buffet, including human, ships
and submarines. Sea creatures feature prominently in seafairer tales around

(02:11):
the world dating back to ancient times. In Greek and
Roman mythology, there's tales of great battles between man and
marine monsters capable of pulling ships underwater. Twelfth century Norwegian
sailors told stories of sea creatures they had seen. By
the eighteenth century, the creatures of Norwegian legend had grown
to the likes of islands with arms. It's thought that giant,
colossal and Humboldt squid are aggressive, opportunistic creatures that prey

(02:35):
on anything that comes their way, from easy meals of
fish and shrimp to a more sporting hunt of other
large cephalopods and whales. The Humboldts specifically are known to
be fierce cannibalistic fighters. Mexican fishermen have nicknamed them dieblos
rojos or red devils because of their bodies, red color
and their hostile nature. And A squid of colossal dimensions

(02:55):
featured in Jules Vern's eighteen sixty nine novel twenty thousand
Leagues under the Sea, said to be a fictionalized account
of a real encounter between a French Navy ship and
a giant squid. Whether the original account is entirely fictional
or not, the novel peaked the public's interest in deep
sea gigantism and marine attacks, and certainly isn't the only
account of squid attacking ships. In the nineteen thirties, the Brunswick,

(03:19):
the Royal Norwegian Navy's fifteen thousand ton tanker, was attacked
three separate times by different giant squid. Each account tells
of a squid pursuing the tanker and striking it. Suddenly,
tentacles wrapped around the hull, fortunately for the sailors, yet
unfortunately for the squid. The steel of the ship proved
either too slick or too hard for the tentacles too
grapple and pierce. Each squid that tried to land the

(03:42):
Brunswick ended up perishing after sliding into the tanker's propellers.
As recently as two thousand and three, a giant squid
attempted to take down a boat, this time a French
yacht sailing ironically in the Jewels Verne Trophy, a prize
for the fastest global circumnavigation by a yacht. Luckily, the
twenty six foot long that's about eight meters squid gave

(04:03):
up before its demise or that of the boat. Some
scientists are skeptical that squid are dangerous to humans or watercraft,
suggesting that there are species with a fish based diet
and therefore have no need to attack humans or the
steel of a ship. But whether they're actively pursuing our
vessels or not, no gigantic squid has yet taken down
a modern ship, but it hasn't been for the lack

(04:24):
of trying. Today's episode is based on the article could
a squid take down a submarine? On HowStuffWorks dot com
written by Maria or Marky. Brainstuff is production of iHeartRadio
in partnership withhoustuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Claying.
Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
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