The Red Devils
Jumbo Squid Menace B.C. Waters
The world's jumbo squid are capable killers, with massive eyes, razor-sharp beaks and powerful tentacles. They eat whatever crosses their paths, including each other. These human-sized squid have even attacked divers and fishermen. Mexican fishermen call them Diablos Rojos, or "Red Devils."
Recently, these aggressive creatures migrated north into B.C. waters. It's strange territory for them. Why did they come?
The mysterious movements of a fascinating species
| Squid In Action |
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The jumbo squid's body extends up to seven feet, the size of a very tall human. This creature closes its 10 waving arms and tentacles, to knife through the water. But these waving appendages conceal a razor-sharp beak - it's one of the hardest organic substances on Earth. This isn't a creature to be trifled with. It's a capable killer.
And it's on the move… North! Encountering a jumbo squid in B.C. waters used to be a rare event. But recently, these squid have been found in fishing nets all along the B.C. coast. Scientists sighted 82 on a survey of the B.C. coast in 2007. They've even been seen in the Gulf of Alaska.
| Capable killers: Jumbo squid, like other cephalopods, have razor sharp beaks that are made of one of the hardest organic materials found on Earth. Using these beaks, the squid can sever their prey's spinal cord. But first they use their powerful tentacles, which are covered by over 2,000 barbed suckers, to attack their victims and draw them in. |
Red Devil? Or simply misunderstood?
This marauding species has many names, like the Humboldt squid (after the Humboldt current in the eastern Pacific) or the jumbo flying squid.
Mexican fisherman call them "Red Devils," after their lightning-quick colour displays. These squid change from red to white instantly, flashing back and forth underwater.
With these red flashes, their large size and aggressive behaviour, these squid have certainly earned their devilish nickname.
Red devils for dinner! In the South Pacific, these red devils are harvested for calamari and squid steaks.
| Map of Range Expansion |
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Do they attack humans? Although no squid attacks have been reported in B.C., there have been reports of squids nipping humans in the South Pacific.
These voracious squid live in the deep, but migrate to shallow waters at night, feeding continuously on anything they find along the way.
So why did it move North? How unwelcome is this squid?
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