On Christmas Eve, a huge squid was captured on video when the strange creature from the deep came up at a marina in the city of Toyama. Last Thursday, roughly 3.7 meters long squid was seen swimming underneath docked fishing boats at about 7 am.

The giant squid made local people surprised because giant squids are rarely seen in shallow coastal waters.

Yuki Igushi, a curator at Uozu Aquarium in Toyama described his feeling as he swam nearby the creature. While speaking to NHK, he said, “The squid was incredibly big. The suckers were so powerful. When I touched one with my hands, it tried to stick to my body”.

A manager at the Mizuhashi Fisherina marina, Tatsuya Wakasugi, where the squid was seen, told TV broadcaster Nippon Television Network that he was surprised to see a living huge squid in shallow water. He called it a probable Christmas present.

The close-up video of the squid’s red-and-white body was succeesfully captured by Akinobu Kimura, owner of the local Diving Shop Kaiyu. He said that he attempted to lead the big squid out of the marina and ultimately the squid went to the deep ocean.

The giant squid belongs to the genus Architeuthis. It is among the biggest known invertebrates. The life cycle of the big squid, including spawning sites and life span is still a mystery.

ANN News reported the monster squid footage, and as of Wednesday afternoon the video had been viewed over 2.6 million times.