The battles between these titans must be frequent, since it is common to find scars on whales’ skins left by the squids’ tentacles and arms, which have suckers lined with sharp chitinous tooth-like structures. American Museum of Natural History.ĭespite its size and speed, Architeuthis has a predator: the sperm whale. Reconstruction of an epic battle between a giant squid and its nemesis, the sperm whale. After all, the tale grows in the telling. Any encounter with an unknown animal could gain a mythological edge from sailors’ stories. For the ancient navigators, the sea was treacherous and dangerous, hiding a horde of monsters in its inconceivable depths. As with many legends, the Kraken started with something real, based on sightings of a real animal, the giant squid. The history of the Kraken goes back to an account written in 1180 by King Sverre of Norway. Brave fishermen could thus risk going near the beast to secure a bounteous catch. But despite its fearsome reputation, the monster could also bring benefits: it swam accompanied by huge schools of fish that cascaded down its back when it emerged from the water.
Legends say that the Kraken could devour a ship’s entire crew at once. Of course, to be worth its salt, a monster needs to have a taste for human flesh. If this strategy failed, the beast would start swimming in circles around the ship, creating a fierce maelstrom to drag the vessel down.
The Kraken had a knack for harassing ships and many pseudoscientific reports (including official naval ones) said it would attack vessels with its strong arms. In Nordic folklore, it was said to haunt the seas from Norway through Iceland and all the way to Greenland. The Kraken is perhaps the largest monster ever imagined by mankind.
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