Two marine giants and the remnants of a never-before-seen battle have made history by being caught on video.
Emerging from the deep with a giant squid in its maw, the mother sperm whale reigned victorious. For the first time, scientists were able to take a crystal clear video of the aftermath of a fight between the two titans of the deep.
Smithsonian marine biologist Rebecca R. Helm (@rebeccarhelm.bsky.social) posted on her Bluesky account about the discovery. The video was originally posted by Ludo (@lud_adventure) on Instagram.
In her post, Helm wrote, "I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it's possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA."
This video is one of the closest views humanity has ever had of the might of the sperm whale after taking down a foe as large as the giant squid.
Helm said in a couple of replies to her original Bluesky post that Smithsonian expert Dr. Michael Vecchione confirmed this information. The squid seen in the sperm whale's mouth was, in fact, the Architeuthis dux — the elusive and awe-inspiring giant squid.
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Given how little humans know about the ocean, footage like this is crucial to understanding more about the deep and the creatures within it.
Per Oceana: "Only about 20% of the ocean has been explored … And because it's difficult to protect what we don't know, only about 7% of the world's oceans are designated as marine protected areas (MPAs)."
MPAs are imperative to maintaining healthy oceans as they allow keystone species to thrive and prosper without harmful human intervention.
In watching such phenomena as the aftermath of a whale-squid fight, people can glean so much information on both species.
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Those who first saw the video on Rebecca's Bluesky were thrilled at the discovery.
One user said, "As someone who has studied these whales for decades … Um. WOW."
Another commenter pointed out the rarity of the situation and stated, "What are the actual chances that we just happened to stumble upon a sperm whale who just happened to like to savor its well-earned dinner rather than just eat it while in the dark depths."
Anyone worried about the video being doctored or AI-generated doesn't have to fear either.
A third user commented on Ludo's account's incredible footage and said, "[M]any [of their videos] are older than AI video tech, so we can exhale and enjoy."
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