( January 31, 2013 ) — Forget the fabled Loch Ness Monster and the legendary figure Bigfoot. The once mythical giant squid, also known as the kraken, has finally been caught on tape during an expedition in July 2012. “I think it’s fascinating that after all these years, something that we’ve always imagined can be seen in real life,” said sophomore Alice Sarkisyan. “The way I’d always imagined a kraken was like the one in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so it would be really interesting to see what it actually looks like.” Deep-sea explorer and mastermind behind the incredible camera system that helped to record this groundbreaking discovery Edith Widder and zoologist Tsunemi Kubodera were just two of the many scientists involved in the project who attempted to catch the squid on video over a period of six weeks. “I had been wanting for a long time to explore the ocean in a different way. . . the way we go down with noisy submersibles that have thrusters whirring and bright lights on them. Any animal with sense is going to get away from that,” Widder said in an interview on National Public Radio. The camera system, which Widder named Medusa, employs a low-light camera so as not to frighten the squid. It emits a faint red light because very few deep-sea creatures are able to spot light with that long of a wavelength. The light is necessary for the kraken to actually appear in the footage. However, Widder faced the problem of somehow attracting the squids to the camera in order to get a good view of the animal. She finally came up with the idea of placing an instrument on Medusa that glowed with bioluminescent light to draw the squid toward the camera. Because the kraken’s prey is lit with the same kind of bioluminescent light, Medusa was mistaken for prey. Five squid in total were filmed charging at the camera system, providing scientists with astounding footage. One of the kraken caught on tape had skin with shades of gold and silver and was approximately four meters long. “We really don’t know much about their natural behavior in the wild so this is a good start,” said Marine Science teacher Dominique Evans-Bye. While most students are curious about the appearance of the kraken, other students are also interested in its behavior. “I hope to see the footage soon,” said senior Rasha Dandachi. “I’m really excited to see what kind of behavior the kraken has.”