Dancing with Demons
Posted By Scott Cassell on 15 December 2005
DEMONS IN HELL
Deep in my mind are images and sounds I will never forget although, some I wish I could. Sounds of warfare, gunfire, the smell of blood, burned hair and gunpowder. Cries for help. The terrible silence of death. Things I wish no person to ever hear or see. However, on that list of terrifying images and sounds, are some I wish more people could see. Those of Humboldt squid feeding. Violent images of death to further life.
Even though the squid make no known sounds intentionally (for communication), they do make some. Their chitenous ring teeth grate on my camera housing and body armor when they attack, sounding a bit like a dog’s toenails on a tile floor. The most incredible sound they make is when they attack and feed on flesh.
Thousands of ring teeth cut into the flesh of their prey so deeply, you can hear it. When they drag their victim away with pulses from their massive jet funnel, the sounds of their hapless victim being ripped apart fills the water. It sounds a bit like heavy duty Velcro® being pulled apart underwater. Then the beak can be heard, that huge knife-edged beak. The gouging of bone and tissue sound like the shredding of cabbage combined with that of hacking apart coconuts with a machete. It is unmistakable.
THE DEMON. THE BEAUTY.
I lift my lights from the disappearing bubble stream and scan the edge of visibility for signs of Humboldt squid or God forbid, a giant psuedorca. Dangling from the cable, I remain almost motionless, searching for shadows or bioluminescent tubes; tell tale signs. Suddenly, about thirty, small (four foot) squid break into view directly in front of me, jetting by at incredible speeds right past me just inches away, then disappear into the blackness behind me. “SHOOT! What the hell made them do that?” My heart pounds as I frantically search for a mega predator to emerge from the black curtain around me. Tense seconds go by, and nothing. My head pivots in every direction as I try to pierce the water with my limited vision. Still nothing! Then my subconscious kicks in and I realize I just saw a huge shape sitting motionless, BEHIND me.
I spin around and find myself face to face with the Diablo Rojo. The first real giant I have ever seen. As my brain processed the image, my instincts kicked in flooding me with emotions. Seconds seem like ages and I found my body immobile, tense with no breathing. I was fascinated, happy, terrified, and helpless.“Cooooool!”
The monstrous squid remains motionless just ten feet away. Emotions gave way to cognitive thought and I trained my camcorder on him and begin to record. Almost on cue, he begins his approach. Then, with blinding acceleration, he lurches onto me with a powerful “thud crackle”. He slams into my chest. The impact was incredibly powerful, knocking the wind out of me. His huge arms envelope my complete upper body and camera and I can feel my chest plate move as his beak grinds against it. The crackle and scratching of thousands of chitenous ring teeth against my fiberglass/kevlar chest plate is unmistakable. He withdraws back into camera range and his huge eyes begin to survey me for damage or weakness. Behind him I can see dozens of man-sized squid waiting to come at me but they don’t. Is it because he is so much larger? Is he the alpha dominant? He certainly had my full attention.
It was then that I noticed his condition. His massive body was a map of pain and experiences. Scars covered his right side and most of his left tentacle was missing, possibly from being jigged by a Pangadero or a lucky bite by a female he mated with. Due to his body marks, I called him ‘Scar’.
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