20 December 2008

The Colossal Squid at the Te Papa Museum

The Te Papa Museum in the Wellington CBD has a unique and amazing display that's truly a treat for the holidays. Nope, it's not Santa on a sleigh. It's something more. Lots more. It's a colossal squid!
Its the only squid display of its kind on the planet (next to Atlantis'). The squid is currently enclosed in suspended animation in a hug tank with liquid that keeps it preserved. Reminds me of Han Solo enclosed in carbonite.
The giant squid was caught in Antarctica as a fish it was feeding on was caught by a commercial fishing vessel. The squid was still alive when it was reeled but being pulled out of its high-pressure habitat meant the squid will die soon. The squid was then brought on board and measures taken to preserve it on its journey to the laboratory.

The display at the Te Papa highlights important structures of the squid and its functions.
Engaging displays and video make the exhibit truly exciting.



The squid exhibit is free of charge. I feel so lucky to be here in New Zealand to see this for myself. The squid is HUGE. I can just imagine a hapless human getting entangled in its tentacles and... and... *squirm*

For more information on the Colossal Squid display, visit the Te Papa website. It features a documentary on the squid discovery, loads of information, and even squid games!



9 comments:

  1. naku malaking calamares, hehehe

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  2. Cathy: during it's time of preservation, the squid had shrunk a bit, but if you make squid rings out of it, it will be as big as tire trucks!

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Sorry, 1st comment deleted cos of typos (pag tumatanda, lalong lumalabo ang mata, tila...)

    What I said was:
    Tire truck wheels? Calamares that will last you for a year! Hehe!

    Updated blogs, please visit! :D

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  5. Anonymous11:49 am

    uy, sensya na ngayon lang nakadalaw... nasa new zealnd na rin pala kayo? may mga firneds ako dyan sa auckland, malayo ba yan sa inyo? anyways, hope you'll have a blessed season, kahit summer yata daw ngayon dyan, hehehe...rgeards to tina and jolo... :)

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  6. meowok: saan kaya kukuha ng frying pan at stove na ganun rin kalaki? hehe

    Lino: Nasa Wellington kami, 9 hours trip by land to Auckland so medyo malayo. Ako nga rin eh di nakadalaw madalas sa photoblog mo... sensya na rin :-)

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  7. Merry C Wat. Scanning over this one for the photos, at first, I thought you were doing one of your favorite kinds of posts, about food.

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  8. Hello Phil! Well, looking at the giant squid made me feel a bit queasy about squids on my plate... hehe

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  9. Hi Watson. Happy New Year, too!

    FYI... the Discovery Channel will be showing on January 11 a program related to this post of yours about Colossal Squids.

    I've been waiting for it. It would be nice TV. :-)

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