A bizarre, giant squid that measures 16 feet long has apparently washed up along New Zealand shores. This massive deep sea creature was found beached along South Bay located n Kaikoura.

The gigantic animal measures 23 feet long from the top of its head to the tips of its tentacles where its eyeballs measure 7.5 inches in diameter. Scientists placed the body of the dead sea creature inside a freezer to prevent further decay where specimens will be then transported to different research facilities that include Otago University and Auckland University.

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To date, the Kaikoura Marine Center and Aquarium is currently housing the massive squid inside a freezer that has window panes that will allow visitors to view the strange, colossal creature of legend. Officials from the center has already identified the animal as an adult female however, the cause of death is still unknown and its age as well.

According to Megan Lewis from the Kaikoura Marine Center and Aquarium, the majority of its mass lies in its head where scientists noted its pristine condition. Still, there is no telltale sign or indication how it died and its stomach was full indicating that it just had its feed. 

Giant marine squids are often mentioned in ancient lore that spans centuries where sailors passed on stories about gigantic sea creatures that can destroy ships at sea. This is also immortalized in fiction as novels such as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne and with the local Scandinavian myth of the Kracken where its body was so large that it was mistaken as islands.

However, real life giant squids are found in deep waters as opposed to near the shore where they regularly feed on fish and other squid and do not currently pose any real danger to humans.

According to the Kaikoura Marine Center and Aquarium, before the birds started feeding on the carcass, scientists and researchers helped transport it to the aquarium where it is now safe inside a freezer with glass windows for visitors to view it.

In the past, sperm whales were sometimes observed with huge scars that were probably caused by a giant sea squid where both could have been entangled in a deep sea struggle. Dead bodies of giant squids would be washed up in shores however they are quick to decompose that leaves little evidence for scientists to study their anatomy.

In 2004, the giant squid was intensively studied for the first time when Japanese zoologists recorded the animals in action in the depths of the ocean.

Tagsnew zealand, giant squid, giant squid new zealand, Kaikoura Marine Centre and Aquarium, photo giant squid