Giant squid washed up on beach

July 11, 2007

The creature was found by a walker on Ocean Beach, near Strahan, on the western coast of island state Tasmania.

The mantle or main body of the giant squid measured two metres (6.5 feet) long.

The tentacles had been badly damaged, so the overall length of the animal could not be determined, a Tasmania Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said.

Scientists believe giant squid usually live at deep ocean depths of between 200-700 metres and that they gather along Australia's continental shelf in cold mid-winter waters to feed on Grenadier fish. The squid are hunted by sperm whales migrating north from the Southern Ocean.

Last year fishermen off the Falkland Islands caught a giant squid measuring 8.62 metres.

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