Thousands of jumbo flying squid, or killer calamari, are surging up from their customary deep water habitat and are once more terrorizing divers and beach goers in San Diego.
These aggressive 5-foot-long sea monsters have razor-sharp beaks and toothy tentacles. They can grow up to 100 pounds and are normally only found in deep waters off Mexico, their native habitat. The squid usually hunt in schools of up to 1,200 and can swim up to 15 mph. They can skim over the water to escape predators.
The squid’s unexpected trip to sunny South California has scientists swimming in knots of confusion. Anything from global warming to a shortage of food, or a decline in the squid’s natural predators, could have caused the phenomenon.
Stories of close encounters with the alien-looking cephalopods have pushed many veteran divers out of the water. Mike Bear, a local diver said “I wouldn’t go into the water with them for the same reason I wouldn’t walk into a pride of lions on the Serengeti.”
Other divers like Shanda Magill, are torn between their personal safety and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share the ocean with these deep-sea giants. Attracted to the dive lights, some divers report tentacles enveloping their masks and yanking at their cameras and gear.
On a recent night dive, Magill trod water and watched in awe as a dozen squid with mournful, expressive eyes circled around her group, tapping and patting the divers and gently bumping them before dashing away.
The next night dive proved to be very different. A large squid crept up on Magill, hitting her from behind and grabbing her. The powerful creature pulled her sideways in the water, ripping her buoyancy hose away from her chest and knocking away her light.
When Magill recovered, she had difficulty knowing which way the surface was and at first couldn’t find the hose to help her stay afloat as she surfaced. The squid was gone.
Magill said.”I just kicked like crazy. The first thing you think of is, Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I’m going to survive this. If that squid wanted to hurt me, it could have.” Other experienced divers have reported squid pulling at their masks and gear and roughing them up.
Another veteran scuba diver and amateur underwater videographer, Roger Uzun, stayed with a swarm of the creatures for about 20 minutes. “They appeared more curious than aggressive. They taste with their tentacles and seemed to be touching me and my wet suit to determine if I was edible”.
The Humboldt squid are nicknamed “red devils” for their rust-red coloring and mean streak. Divers are often inside a metal cage, or wear chain mail, to avoid being slashed by tentacles.
In 2005, an invasion off San Diego thrilled fishermen. In 2002 12 tons of dead and dying squid were removed from the San Diego beaches.
