Sperm Whale Bringing Up Giant Squid from Deep Water | Ogasawara, Japan

I watched this adult female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) come up from deep water in the Ogasawara islands of Japan, carrying several fragments of Architeuthis giant squid in her mouth. A juvenile sperm whale that was part of her family group joined the adult as she surfaced, and the two swam together. The adult spit out or dropped one piece of giant squid, as shown in this photograph. When I retrieved the giant squid fragment, it was ice cold.

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Filename: sperm-whale-with-architeuthis-giant-squid-ogasawara-japan-201010-0280.tif
Copyright: Copyright Tony Wu. All rights reserved. No duplication without prior written permission
Image Size: 4965x3310 / 47.1MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license#rm; https://www.tony-wu.com/contact-tony-wu; Whale Sperm Whale Animalia Chordata Mammalia Cetacea Odontoceti Physeteridae Physeter macrocephalus Cetartiodactyla Cachalot Marine Mammal Odontocete Physeter catadon Toothed Whale CITES Appendix 1 Vulnerable: IUCN Red List Pacific Japan Bonin Islands Ogasawara Chichijima Foraging Feeding Hunting Squid Mollusca Cephalopoda Coleoidea Teuthida Oegopsina Architeuthidae Architeuthis sp. Giant Squid
Contained in galleries: Giant Squid, Sperm Whales, Cephalopods, Marine Life | Japan

I watched this adult female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) come up from deep water in the Ogasawara islands of Japan, carrying several fragments of Architeuthis giant squid in her mouth. A juvenile sperm whale that was part of her family group joined the adult as she surfaced, and the two swam together. The adult spit out or dropped one piece of giant squid, as shown in this photograph. When I retrieved the giant squid fragment, it was ice cold.