Scientists photograph giant squid live in the wild for first time

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese researchers have something you normally only see in horror movies: photos of a live giant squid.

They also have one of its nearly 20-foot-long tentacles.

Experts have, for the first time, been able to observe the legendary 26-foot long purplish-red sea creature up close and personal. And they have magnificent pictures to prove it.

A researcher with Japan's National Science Museum tells The Associated Press that the squid struggled for more than four hours to get away. It pulled so hard on a line of shrimp bait, that it
severed one of its own tentacles. They hauled it onboard and he says it was "quite an experience to feel the still-functioning tentacle" on his hands.

Giant squids are the world's largest invertebrates and can grow to a length of more than 50 feet. The one caught on camera was likely an adult female.