the kraken; from myth to reality elhuyar, beñardo kortabarria
It seems that the Kraken originally originates in Scandinavian mythology. It’s an enormous beast that very rarely breaks the sea surface. And if indeed it has ever been sighted, all that has been seen is a mere glimpse of a part of them. These creatures can measure anything up to two kilometres in length. The tentacle-covered beast soon became the very image of fear in Scandinavian countries. One old written reference describes it in the following terms: “...it can grab hold of even the greatest battleship and drag the whole thing down to the deepest depths”. In the very same documents it goes on to describe how the krakens can spend up to months feeding itself. Once it had satisfied it voluminous appetite, it rested and digested its meal in peace and calm. The sweet smell of its excrement then attracted thousands of fish and once the beast awoke from his slumber... well, it was surrounded by fish and it was back to feasting again.
Norwegian and Finnish sailors lived in fear of the kraken; sometimes it was pictured as a giant cuttlefish; and at others, as an octopus. Whatever its resemblance to a sea creature, it was always shown in attacking mode as it tried to sink some ship.
As in many other cases, the legend of the kraken is also based on a real life animal. When the bodies of giant cuttlefish, or giant squid as they are commonly known, started to wash ashore, naturalists discovered the sea housed a creature of enormous proportions. In 1856, Johannes Japetus Smith Streestrup came up with a generic name for the animal: Architeuthis. When he did so, this Danish zoologist had to present an 11,5cm-long cuttlebone. That’s when the matter of legends became the object of scientific study.
It is believed that giant cuttlefish are part of big predators diet , and especially that of the sperm whale. The reason for this belief is that traces of suckers belonging to cuttlefish have appeared on sperm whales’ skin on many occasions.
They normally wash ashore, dying or dead. Nobody has ever seen or caught a live giant cuttlefish and because of this science knows very little about the biology or physiology of the creature. It is believed that these animals have great difficulties in holding oxygen, which is why they normally drown once they have drifted into waters with high temperatures and low oxygen supply. The seas around Terranova, Great Britain and Scandinavia quite often come up with the above mix of little oxygen and high temperatures.
This all means that the little that scientists know has been garnered from the dead animals washed ashore. They say that giant cuttlefish can measure as little as 3mm when they are born and that they can grow anything up to 20 metres in length. That suggests that they can also weigh up to a ton in weight. Investigation of the growth rings of the inner-ear bone indicates that a 100 kilo kraken is probably about two years old. If that’s the case, it’s the biggest animal in the sea. It’s capable of producing two million eggs and is held to be an opportunist species. There are more unanswered questions than answered ones however, why does it need such big eyes – the biggest of any living creature – in a place with no light? How does it hunt? How does it find a mate? When does it reproduce? How does it reproduce? Where does it lay its eggs? How does it use the suckers on its tentacles? How much do they move?... Mythology would come up with an answer to all these questions, but mythology isn’t a science.
In search of the Architeuthis.
As far as we know, 3 expeditions will set out next summer 2004 in an attempt to photograph a kraken. The glory will go to the first team to achieve the photo. The three teams in the chase are from America, New Zealand and Spain and each of them will look in different parts of the world and they methods they intend to use vary. This is not the first attempt at trying to capture a kraken on film and some of the scientists involved in the have been after this for years. The Spanish will repeat last year’s effort and will concentrate their search about 25 km off the Asturian coast at a place called the “Caladero de Carrandi, which is quite close to the Basque Country.
Norwegian and Finnish sailors lived in fear of the kraken; sometimes it was pictured as a giant cuttlefish; and at others, as an octopus. Whatever its resemblance to a sea creature, it was always shown in attacking mode as it tried to sink some ship.
As in many other cases, the legend of the kraken is also based on a real life animal. When the bodies of giant cuttlefish, or giant squid as they are commonly known, started to wash ashore, naturalists discovered the sea housed a creature of enormous proportions. In 1856, Johannes Japetus Smith Streestrup came up with a generic name for the animal: Architeuthis. When he did so, this Danish zoologist had to present an 11,5cm-long cuttlebone. That’s when the matter of legends became the object of scientific study.
It is believed that giant cuttlefish are part of big predators diet , and especially that of the sperm whale. The reason for this belief is that traces of suckers belonging to cuttlefish have appeared on sperm whales’ skin on many occasions.
They normally wash ashore, dying or dead. Nobody has ever seen or caught a live giant cuttlefish and because of this science knows very little about the biology or physiology of the creature. It is believed that these animals have great difficulties in holding oxygen, which is why they normally drown once they have drifted into waters with high temperatures and low oxygen supply. The seas around Terranova, Great Britain and Scandinavia quite often come up with the above mix of little oxygen and high temperatures.
This all means that the little that scientists know has been garnered from the dead animals washed ashore. They say that giant cuttlefish can measure as little as 3mm when they are born and that they can grow anything up to 20 metres in length. That suggests that they can also weigh up to a ton in weight. Investigation of the growth rings of the inner-ear bone indicates that a 100 kilo kraken is probably about two years old. If that’s the case, it’s the biggest animal in the sea. It’s capable of producing two million eggs and is held to be an opportunist species. There are more unanswered questions than answered ones however, why does it need such big eyes – the biggest of any living creature – in a place with no light? How does it hunt? How does it find a mate? When does it reproduce? How does it reproduce? Where does it lay its eggs? How does it use the suckers on its tentacles? How much do they move?... Mythology would come up with an answer to all these questions, but mythology isn’t a science.
In search of the Architeuthis.
As far as we know, 3 expeditions will set out next summer 2004 in an attempt to photograph a kraken. The glory will go to the first team to achieve the photo. The three teams in the chase are from America, New Zealand and Spain and each of them will look in different parts of the world and they methods they intend to use vary. This is not the first attempt at trying to capture a kraken on film and some of the scientists involved in the have been after this for years. The Spanish will repeat last year’s effort and will concentrate their search about 25 km off the Asturian coast at a place called the “Caladero de Carrandi, which is quite close to the Basque Country.
- Aula del mar. Luarca, Asturias: the museum that houses remains of kraken
- The Spanish team can be visited at
- More stuff about kraken characteristics at
