A giant mystery of the deep gave researchers and spectators in Japan an early Christmas present, rising from the depths and roaming around a harbour and swimming under fishing boats.
It was a rare sight to behold and has given scientists an insight into the giant squid which they know little about.
The 3.7 metre-long creature surfaced in Toyama Bay in central Japan on Christmas Eve and was lurking around the harbour for several hours before it went back into the ocean depths, CNN reports.
The cephalopod was relatively small compared to the 13 metres they're known to grow to, which has led to speculation it could be a juvenile.
Local dive shop owner Akinobu Kimura swam near the cephalopod. The encounter was filmed using a submersible camera.
He says he got into the water with the creature because his curiosity was "way bigger than fear" and it got the better of him.
"This squid was not damaged and looked lively, spurting ink and trying to entangle his tentacles around me. I guided the squid toward to the ocean, several hundred meters from the area it was found in, and it disappeared into the deep sea," he told CNN
There were 16 reports of the giant squid trapped in fishing nets last season, which runs from November to March, and this is the first sighting this season.
The first giant squid was only captured on camera in 2012.
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