Legendary battle; Sperm whale vs. Giant Squid

Physeter catodon and Architeuthis

The largest of the toothed whales (Odontocetes) the Sperm whale was the mainstay of the American whaling fleet in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Sperm whales have the largest population of great whale worldwide. The largest males reach lengths of 60 feet and 48 tons. Teeth are present only in the lower jaw, which fit neatly into sockets in the upper jaw. Sperm whales have only a single blow hole located on the left side front of the head  which gives a distinctive shape to the exhale spout.

Sperm whales prefer to hunt in deep water along the continental shelf, in water that ranges from 3200 to 6500 feet deep, but they are known to dive deeper. Like many of the toothed whales, sperm whales seem to prefer squid as their main food. They avoid competition with other toothed whales  by having the ability to dive deeper than any other whale can. The physiological reasons for the sperm whales ability to dive so deep are still open to speculation. most squid taken by sperm whales are relatively small in size, but giant squid upwards of 30 feet long have been found in the stomach of sperm whales. And huge sucker-inflicted scars  bear witness to battles with even bigger squid perhaps 60 to 80 feet long. Only recently has the first actual photographs of the mysterious giant squid in its environment been revealed by Japanese scientists, who followed sperm whales on hunting forays to get their footage.