Many moons ago, when men explored the world by ocean, stories came from many about monsters of the sea. Giant tentacles, googly eyes, species of unfathomable size sinking ships and stealing lives. One of those monsters was the devil fish, an octopus-like creature whose size could match that of a boat. The devil fish was a myth of the ocean, a sailor’s tale until it landed on the shores of Newfoundland and became known as the giant squid.
In 1871 a devil fish was caught by an American schooner near Grand Bank. The creature was used as bait but the jaws were sent to Yale, where it was confirmed to be a giant squid.
In 1872, two more giant squid found themselves around the coast of Newfoundland. One landed in Coomb’s Cove where eyewitnesses say it was at least 16 metres long. Another squid was found in Bonavista Bay- and this one made itself known because two tentacles and the jaw were sent to Yale.
In 1873 another two giant squid hit major headlines and got everyone’s attention.
A tentacle of a giant squid caught in Portugal Cove was handed off to naturalist Moses Harvey—who wrote about the squid for many publications and helped put the creature on the map of scientific reality instead of fantastical realism. He also gave the giant squid a broader public presence.
Two fishers in Logy Bay caught a giant squid in their net the same year and also gave it to Harvey to observe and write about. He tried to preserve it as a whole being but he couldn’t keep it intact so he sent pieces to Yale, where some of it still remains preserved at the Peabody Museum.
It’s estimated that 60 giant squid were caught on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the 1870s and 18 showed up on the beaches of Newfoundland.
It is believed that when one washed up on the shores, communities took it as a huge win and used as much of the squid to survive as possible (for bait and dog food). As the stories of the great squid became more well known, people started reporting them and saving pieces for naturalists.
In 1873 pieces of a giant squid caught in Grand Bank Fortune Bay were sent to Yale and the jaws are still preserved there today.
By 1877 people were hooked on the giant squid and waited on baited breath for new sightings. Newfoundland reports were front page news. When a huge giant squid washed up in Catalina, it made headlines.
In its desperate efforts to escape, the ten arms darted about in all directions lashing water into foam, the thirty-foot tentacles in particular making lively play as it shot them out.
London Illustrated Paper, November 17, 1877
Organizations across the world bid for pieces of the great Catalina giant squid and a New York aquarium won the pieces for $500.
Giant squid continued to trickle into the island including one in Thimble Tickle and one in Brigus but none could be preserved. By 1881 a dead squid in great condition landed in Portugal Cove, it was packed up in ice and sent to New York.
More giant squid showed up across Newfoundland in the 1960s and the last sighting was in Triton. A local found an over 12-foot long squid on Badger Bay.
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