Flying fish? — no problem, we’ve all heard of them. How about squid that fly? Now that’s a different matter.
Fishermen have, for years, suspected that some squid were somehow able to hop out of water; they would occasionally find them on the decks of their boats after a night at sea.
Despite these suspicions, it’s been a long wait for someone to catch any of the crafty buggers at it.
All squid have a built-in jet propulsion system that pushes them through the water. Scientists believe that this pump is powerful enough to fire them up and above the surface of the sea when they’re getting hassled by a predator below the waves.
Over recent years, Japanese fish-based scientists have been on the lookout for these amazing chaps. They have found that at least one species of squid can fire itself out of the water, and it can reach speeds of 11 meters per second – that’s faster than Usain Bolt over 100m, would you believe?
These Japanese flying squid can stay airborne for up to 3 seconds and travel an impressive 30 meters per leap. I found a few videos demonstrating their skills, including a guy getting hit in the face by one.
Here’s that guy in a speed boat being hit in the face by a flying squid:
Next up, we have a video of a guy accidentally kite surfing alongside a flying squid. This is a good one:
MORE MARINE WONDERS:
THE FIN WHALE: 2ND BIGGEST ANIMAL ON EARTH
THE COOKIECUTTER SHARK: SMALL BUT DEADLY
