BajaNomad

giant squid and John Steinbeck

gueribo - 6-22-2019 at 09:34 AM

Stumbled across a nice article at Science Friday about the mystery of the Humboldt squid and when it migrated to Baja waters. The jumbo squids aren't mentioned by John Steinbeck or Ed Ricketts when they made their 1940 marine research expedition.

In 2004, William Gilly, professor at Stanford University, retraced Ricketts' and Steinbeck’s path to see what had changed over the years. One of the things Gilly wanted to know was when the giant squid arrived, and why. There's a new expedition planned, in the original Western Flyer, to replicate Steinbeck's and Ricketts' journey.

Cool article and nice photos.

https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/john-steinbeck-and-th...

Ricketts and a Humboldt squid at his lab in Monterey, 1936:

RickettsHumboldt-Squid2-copy-793x1024.jpg - 129kB

Professor Gilly and a Humboldt squid in 2008:

pre-2010gillysquid.jpg - 78kB

TMW - 6-22-2019 at 12:44 PM

Wow that bottom picture is one big squid. Some friends and I camped near Las Animas south of LA Bay a few years ago and there were dozens of dead and dying squid in a trapped water area from the tide going out. We collected several live ones for dinner.