Category Archives: Colossal squid

Our Far South

8 February 2012 – 9.38am

Auckland Islands sign and NZ sea lion pup. Photo Anton van Helden. © Te Papa

Welcome to Our Far South. This coming Friday I will be standing on the dock at Bluff, looking south, and about to board a boat heading to the sub-Antarctic Islands and the great white continent itself as part of the Our Far South project (www.ourfarsouth.org). What will I see?

We all know about Stewart Island and some people might think that is where New Zealand stops; but there is a whole lot of territory even further south than that!

The subantarctic Islands include the Auckland,  Campbell and Macquarie Islands where we will see colonies of sea lions, elephant seals, penguins and our everpresent companions of the southern oceans – the albatrosses.

Our Far South is unique, and is an extraordinary area for Whales and seals, sea birds, remarkable plants, fish and invertebrates from the tiniest plankton to the colossal squid! It is also an area that hugely impacts on the world’s climate. As I head south I will report back to you on the natural environment of Our Far South and how its biodiversity, climate and geology is so intricately interconnected.

Elephant Seal Auckland Islands. Photo Anton van Helden .© Te Papa

Our Far South is an area that although remote is impacted by the things that humans do from fishing (and Whaling!!), pollution, oil and mineral exploration, climate-change. I will be looking at these things and reporting back.

So Hat and gloves on and away we go….heading South!

By antonvanhelden | Also posted in Birds, Field trips, Fish, Penguins, Whales | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Animal and plant collections

15 July 2011 – 1.47pm

Te Papa’s Natural Environment team have revamped their webpages. You can access them here.

Collection highlights online include:

North Island Brown Kiwi, Apteryx mantelli, New Zealand. Te Papa

The following links will take you to more information on specific collections:

Let us know below what additional information you would like to see online about Te Papa’s collections of animals and plants.

By Leon Perrie | Also posted in Birds, Bugs, insects and spiders, Fish, Fossils, Plants, Reptiles, Whales | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Colossal squid on display gets check-up

14 February 2011 – 3.53pm

We can all do with a check-up every so often – just to ensure things are going ok and we’re not falling apart.

Today our team took the lid off the colossal squid tank and started to drain out the preservation fluid so we can give the colossal squid a check-up. We last had the lid off the tank in March 2009.

Preparing to lift the lid off the squid tank.

Preparing to lift the lid off the squid tank. Copyright Te Papa, 2011

 

The lid is lifted off the squid tank.

The lid is lifted off the squid tank. Copyright Te Papa, 2011

 

Don lifts the lid on the squid tank.

Don lifts the lid on the squid tank. Copyright Te Papa, 2011

This gives our conservator Robert Clendon, and exhibition team members Hutch and Don a chance to see how the squid specimen is doing, and find out what’s going on in the tank. They are bravely doing all of this in the gallery space – so visitors can watch and ask questions.

The preservation of the colossal squid (the heaviest, bulkiest squid in the world, remember)  is an experiment. There are no guarantees! No one has done this before, so Te Papa’s team are learning as they go.

The liquid chosen to preserve the squid in is a glycol-water mixture. The squid has been in this liquid for 2 years. During this time the fluid in the tank has discoloured and there’s been a build of detritus in the base of the tank – both of which interfere with getting a good view of the squid.

We’re not sure why this is happening and that’s why we need to take a closer look  and try to work out what is going on. The fluid in the tank will be changed and we’ll be cleaning out the tank.

It will take about 5 hours for the tank liquid to drain out. We can then start assessing the condition of the squid, which will take a few days. Robert will be  doing a visual assessment, comparing the specimen with existing photos. He will also test samples of the tank liquid for pH and for biological activity, such as the presence of bacteria or moulds. These results will tell us if the squid is deteriorating or not. 

Robert and Don examine the mantle of the colossal squid.

Robert and Don examine the mantle of the colossal squid. Copyright Te Papa, 2011

We do know that the squid specimen has contracted in size by about 5% after being in the preserving fluid. Robert is not sure why, but is confident that this is not because the squid is deteriorating – in fact the indications are that the specimen itself is in very good shape.

After the check-up is complete towards the end of this week we’ll be able to make informed decisions about the future of the colossal squid specimen. Once we know more about what’s been going on in the tank over the last 2 years, we can work out how long the squid can be kept on display and how often we need to change the tank liquid.  

All of which helps us keep this incredible colossal squid out there for you to see.

By pamelalovis | Tagged , , , | Comments (15)

Colossal squid – happy birthday ‘two’ you

15 December 2010 – 3.42pm

It’s hard to believe but the colossal squid at Te Papa has turned “two”. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Today my squid, “Pamela”, is 730 days old – she is 2 years old. 

She now weighs an impressive 306 kilograms (about another 180 kilograms to go before she’s the same weight as the colossal squid on display).

She has travelled 6,570 kilometres in the Southern Ocean (Auckland to Invercargill and back, twice – I feel tired just thinking about it).

She’s looked for more suckers, survived encounters with Japanese whalers and, from the look of her, had a very good time on her adventures.

Pamela's squid, now 2 years old!

Pamela's squid, now 2 years old!

More than 210,000 squid frequent the Build a Squid database – and there’s room for plenty more.

So go and check on your squid, make another, or come in and wish Te Papa’s colossal squid a Happy 2nd Birthday.

By pamelalovis | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Colossal squid at Te Papa turns one year old

18 December 2009 – 3.08pm
Pamela's one year old squid

Pamela's one year old squid

Hey squid fans

Time flies when you’re having fun! The colossal squid at Te Papa has turned one year old.

Now’s a good time to check out the squid you made on Build a Squid. http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/build-a-squid

See how old you’ve got, how much you weigh (eek) and what you’ve been getting up to.

My squid is 368 days old, has travelled over 3,000 kilometres and weighs 154 kilograms. At the moment my squid has just escaped another colossal squid.

If you’ve got visitors over Christmas who haven’t seen the squid, check it out online and get them into Te Papa to see it in all its squiddy glory.

http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/

By pamelalovis | Tagged , , | Comments (12)

If I were a squid, how would I mate? Ask Isabella

17 September 2009 – 2.48pm

In a passionate 20-armed-embrace Isabella Rosselli would say. Clad in a squid suit, Isabella explains the mating habits of our cephalopod friends in her quirky, family-friendly Green Porno series of short movies on SunDance Channel. 

rossalinigreen

I was amazed at how well she explains squid mating habits – they are quite strange and not really much like our own mammalian ones!

You can also find out about the mating habits of a whole range of creatures.  I never knew what it’d be like to be in the midst of an anchovy love-fest or that male elephant seals have harems! I haven’t seen the earth worm one yet but the mind boggles!
Green Porno on the Sundance Channel

A Squidie embrace

A Squidie embrace

By lucyhoffman | Also posted in Fish | Tagged , , , | Comments (5)

Loch Ness Squid on Google Earth!

28 August 2009 – 4.32pm

The blog-o-sphere is reeling today with supposed sightings of the Loch Ness Monster on Google Earth! Check it out – we wonder whether perhaps Nessie and our Colossal squid are related?

Image of Google Earth care of Geekologie.com

Image of Google Earth care of Geekologie.com

Weird co-incidence number 2 is that during the squid defrost, some of the scientists nick-named our squid ‘Messie’ - after the scientific name Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni.

For those of you whose Latin pronunciation is not great, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is pronouced something like ‘Mess-on-a-ca-tooth-this’.
Te Papa’s Colossal Squid website

By lucyhoffman | Tagged , , , , | Comments (5)

A new giant squid specimen!

3 April 2009 – 8.56am

A three-metre giant squid specimen washed up on a beach on Wellington’s South Coast yesterday (2nd April).

In comparison with our colossal squid it’s a bit small, but because it’s small it’s interesting! Find out about the difference between Colossal and Giant squid.

The squid was found in shallow water by Alana Spragg and her daughter Bella who managed to drag it onto the beach. At just 3m long the squid is one of the smallest we’ve seen: this means that it is either a rarely seen male , or an even more rarely seen juvenile.

Collection manager of molluscs at Te Papa, Bruce Marshall noted that out of the last 50 giant squid we have received; only one has been a male.  The actual sex ratio is about 50:50, however,  as collectors favour the larger the largest specimens, which are invariably females. Juvenile giant squid are also rare in New Zealand waters – we don’t know where they go after they hatch and before they return to the breeding areas off the South Island.

Te papa's freezer - giant squid and other specimens awaiting processing.

Te papa's freezer - giant squid and other specimens awaiting processing.

The giant squid has been put in a freezer and will eventually be preserved for display. It is in fantastic condition – It looks like it has probably only been dead for a couple of hours. Its skin is perfect and the eyes, tentacles and beak all appear to be intact. The preservation process will start in about two months, because the preparation laboratory at Te Papa is being renovated.

The squid was reported in this morning’s newspaper:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/2311472/Giant-no-match-for-colossal-cousin

By chrispaulin | Also posted in Exhibitions | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Squid – done and dusted!

20 March 2009 – 4.50pm
The new wheelchair ramp is completed and gives a great view for everyone into the squid tank.

The new wheelchair ramp is completed and gives a great view for everyone into the squid tank.

Breaking news from our squid fix-it team – the work is complete and we are on track to reopen the colossal squid exhibition to the public from tomorrow 21 March 2009.

Yesterday Robert Clendon our Conservator and Hutch Wilco, one of our exhibition preparators finished the last few tweaks to the squid itself. They  managed to draw the bulk of the squid’s body beneath the surface of the liquid in the tank, but this then caused the mantle to float up!

After much discussion the team decided to stitch through the tissues around the gladius and attach the mantle of the squid to the support raft underneath. By attaching weights to the support they managed to get the mantle under the liquid too.

Today the team have been putting the tank back together, which included slowly and carefully rebolting the lid onto the tank.

The glycol and water mixture used to fill the tank is still producing gas.  The team have refilled the tank just enough to fully cover the squid and make contact with the lid.  This has left an air gap at the sides of the tank which will reduce the risk of the tank pressurising and minimise the chance of a spill.  It will also reduce the chance of bubbles forming on the lid. Sometime over the next fortnight we will put in the last little bit of liquid.

Our hardworking squid fix-it team have also completed the new wheelchair ramp, installed the railing, and put new carpet down.

Smile - it's the end of a long week working on the squid.

Smile - it's the end of a long week working on the squid.

The gallery space is being tidied as we speak and we are on target for reopening tomorrow morning when you get to see the colossal squid again.  Enjoy!

By pamelalovis | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Expect the unexpected

17 March 2009 – 4.29pm

The latest report on the squid work has come through from Hutch Wilco, one of our exhibition team. Hutch has been working on the squid project since May last year and has become “intimately” acquainted with the squid and its tank.

He tells me that alterations to the tank have gone very smoothly. All the new attachments are well sealed, so hopefully no leaks will appear.

As often happens, when you take something apart, new, unexpected issues are discovered that you then have to deal with. When the team took the lid off the squid tank they found that the acrylic had expanded ever so slightly, as is usual in a warm environment. However the bolt holes in the lid were drilled in the cool environment of a factory -  ie into unexpanded acrylic. So it took the team several hours to remove the lid surround by force -  not a good thing when you’re dealing with a material that tends to crack when force is applied.

What does this mean? Hutch and the team have talked to a couple of acrylic experts and have decided to sand out each bolt hole by hand to create a bit more tolerance.

Unfortunately this means we won’t be able to put the lid back on the squid tank until Wednesday afternoon. This in turn means we won’t be able to put in the last of the liquid, test the seals, put all the tank panels back on, install the new wheelchair ramp, and finish off all the other little jobs and clean ups required in time to reopen on Thursday as planned.

The extra time is good as it will allow the team to address a couple of other issues. There is still some gas trapped inside the the squid and Hutch tells me this is going to be carefully massaged out…. (he gets all the best jobs). They are also going to do a few tweaks to the mounts.  It also gives the glycol and water solution longer to settle down so that any gas bubbles produced by the mixing process have time to rise to the surface and escape.

At this stage, barring the discovery of any other issues or springing a leak, we expect to reopen the squid exhibition on either Friday 20 March or Saturday 21 March.

By pamelalovis | Comments (1)
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