A living giant squid turned up in a harbor in Central Japan last week, making itself available for photos and video of the encounter before a diver led it back out to sea.
The diver, Akinobu Kimura, owner of Diving Shop Kaiyu, told CNN the giant squid looked to be in normal health and was not sure how it wound up in the bay.
"My curiosity was way bigger than fear, so I jumped into the water and go close to it," he said. "This squid was not damaged and looked lively, spurting ink and trying to entangle his tentacles around me. I guided the squid toward to the ocean, several hundred meters from the area it was found in, and it disappeared into the deep sea."
The giant squid appeared at Toyama Bay, swimming close to the surface in area near docked boats and in plain view of an above walkway.
Most reports of giant squid sightings are when fishermen find them entangled in their nets, Yuki Ikushi, the curator of Uozu Aquarium in Uozu, Toyama, told CNN. Over the past couple years, two of the most highly publicized giant squid sightings came when the creature washed ashore.
"We might see more in this season," Ikushi said, "but it's very rare for them to be found swimming around (the fishing boats') moorings."
