Paper short abstract:

This paper explores three instances where technology made giant squid comprehensible to the public: an 1873 photograph, a museum taxidermy display in 2000, and submersible camera footage captured in 2004. It sheds light on the interplay between science, technology, and our perception of marine life.

Paper long abstract:

Our centuries-long fascination with giant squid has been fueled by scientists’ limited observations of these elusive creatures. Only recently have technological developments allowed researchers to study these animals in greater detail. This paper investigates three instances in which technology was used to make giant squid more comprehensible to the public. In the first, Rev. Harvey Moses' 1873 photograph of a giant squid captured near Newfoundland provided tangible proof of its existence. In the second, a giant squid caught off New Zealand's coast was preserved and displayed in a Paris museum in 2000. In the third, in 2004, Japanese scientists captured the first images of a living giant squid in its natural environment using submersible cameras. This paper explores how accidental encounters and technology have shaped public perception of giant squid and their habitat, informing changing narratives about them, and transforming their image from “monstrous kraken” to a species in need of conservation. It provides a fresh perspective on the role of marine animals in developing public understandings of the depths of the ocean, and on the interplays between science, technology, and the natural world. This account aims to contribute to animal and more-than-human history, showing how unintentional human-squid encounters, as well as changing technological instruments, influence public perceptions and narratives of the marine environment. In the case of giant squid, emotive characteristics continue to be assigned to these animals, often anthropomorphizing them in ways that reflect human fears, hopes, and curiosities.