The giant squid is a rare ocean creature. So rare, that it’s often grouped with other mythological sea beasts, such as the Kraken, Cthulhu, and merfolk.

But the giant squid is real.

Although seldom seen, giant squid sightings do happen. And one fisherman from Japan has encountered not one, but two, of the massive marine invertebrates while on his boat. Below, check out the latest giant squid sighting, a haunting encounter.

The footage comes from fisherman @yonemorikouta, but has been reposted on YouTube. The original video was published in December of 2025. Captioning the YouTube version for English-speaking audiences, and with a menacing soundtrack, the video reads:

“New footage has emerged of a fantastic encounter with Architeuthis dux-- the famed GIANT SQUID-- from a Japanese fishing vessel. This extraordinary video yields a truly rare sighting of a live, and seemingly healthy, A. dux specimen at the ocean's surface, where they rarely make appearances. Encounters such as these are striking reminders of historical seafaring tales of krakens attacking ships...”

In this encounter, the giant squid appears to be eating another of its smaller squid brethren. And it seems in better health than the angler’s previous sighting, something particularly rare when it comes to seeing these things near the surface, as they dwell in the deep.

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Back in 2019, NOAA recorded only the second time a giant squid was glimpsed in its deep-sea natural habitat. That creature, estimated to be 10-to-12-feet, was spotted at a depth of 2,490-feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Per Duke University Biology professor, Sonke Johnsen:

“It’s not some exotic creature found thousands of miles away in some unknown deep. It’s our animal. And I think that’s what we as explorers do — we point a finger down into the deep and say this is here, this is amazing and it’s beautiful and it’s something we should care about.”

As for the latest giant squid footage from Japan, one commenter wrote:

“Considering this is your second sighting of a giant squid AND this video displays feeding behavior, this is DEFINITELY academically important and you absolutely should be contacting whatever biological oceanographers are nearby you.”

Turns out, monsters are real.

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This story was originally published by Surfer on Apr 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Surfer as a Preferred Source by clicking here.