The Pacific Ocean is home to one of the most fearsome creatures in the sea-the jumbo (or Humboldt) squid. Known as the "red devil," this fierce predator will attack any fish it comes into contact with. It often preys on other jumbo squid and has even been known to attack mammals-including human divers!
Ten-Finger Discount: The jumbo squid has two feeding tentacles, which can stretch to twice the length of its eight arms. The squid shoots out its tentacles to grab prey and pull it toward its mouth.
Great Escape: A jumbo squid has two fins that form a diamond shape at the top of its mantle. The fins help the squid swim up to 15 mph and allow it to glide through the air after it shoots itself out of the water to escape sperm whales, sharks and other predators.
Food Fight[]
Jumbo squid have been known to strip a giant tuna to the bone in a matter of minutes.
Jumbo squid hunt in packs when going after bigger prey, such as large fish and other squid. But experts don't believe that they work together like wolves or other pack hunters do. Instead the squid all attack at once, grabbing at their prey with their tentacles in a free-for-all feeding frenzy. Once a squid has a hold of its prey, it uses its razor-sharp beak to tear chunks off the still-living animal. This enables the squid to “take a taste" of just about anything it encounters-even large animals like whales.
Ink-a-Drink: When threatened, a jumbo squid will shoot a stream of ink. The squid either creates a smoke screen of this dark liquid to hide itself or squirts out squid-size ink blobs that act as decoys while the squid swims away.
Blast Off: When a jumbo squid needs to make a fast getaway, it uses jet propulsion. By taking water in through its mantle and pushing it through its body with great force, the squid can shoot through the water at 25 mph.
Color Me Bad[]
The chromatophores on the jumbo squid's skin allow it to flash a range of colors, changing from its natural white to deep red (right). Experts think the squid uses this color-changing technique for mating, to communicate with other squid-perhaps while they are hunting-and to hide from predators. The chromatophores allow the squid to change color in the blink of an eye.
