Humbolt Squid High-Def Documentary Screening

Thanks

Monty,

Thanks for the information. I really enjoyed the two specials. The PBS special was not about "killer" anything, but concentrated mostly on octopuses but also had footage of cuttlefish and some humboldt squids at the end. Great octopus footage, though.

Wendy
 
capsfan6;77525 said:
Monty,

Thanks for the information. I really enjoyed the two specials. The PBS special was not about "killer" anything, but concentrated mostly on octopuses but also had footage of cuttlefish and some humboldt squids at the end. Great octopus footage, though.

Wendy

Oh, yeah, if you want to see some of the footage from the longer movie, the short "Dancing With Demons" can be found here:
http://209.242.151.5/seawolves/dancingwithdemons.wmv

This is pretty representative of the underwater footage in the longer movie, although there's a lot more narration, stuff about how Scott and crew built armor and such, and narration about the dive experience and the footage.
 
Monty, its me, Dale. :smile:

I looked over the thread for the screening and it looks like you answered the questions just like I would. There are alot of people that have been watching the documentaries and thought that the Humboldts were just a big gentle animal. We were in the process of making our documetaries when some "More funded" people thought we had a good idea and beat us to the punch. They often ask to have people appear in the videos for content. After they interviewed Scott on the "Killer Squid" video and we saw it on TV we realized that those companies that had produced the video had put a spin on it. For some reason its not fashionable to show a dangerous animal as dangerous. Im not sure why but I see alot of people free swimming with white sharks, and even grabbing hold of the dorsal for a ride. Although the person doing this is a highly experienced guide and has been diving with the sharks for years it offers the viewer to think that there might be a possibility that they could do the same thing.

I have dove with the squid without armor only a few times. One time I got bit on the finger. I pulled my hand away real fast but it happend too fast and he got me anyway. The Humboldt went rght through my un-armored glove like soft cheese. Still have a small scar on my finger because of it. Only did it because of the situation of the dive. We had a customer that wanted to handle the Squid. I gave that person my armor gloves because I was worried they would get bit. :shock:

Now we do not often let the customers handle the animals. It must be a special cirumstance and have the help of the divemaster guide.

As far as Mr. Gilly is concerned, everyone know he is a very knowlegable person on Humboldt squid, I have never met him and I am sure he is a stand up nice person. However he has no problem getting on international TV (killer squid) and publications (outside magazine) and telling people that we are just trying to sensationalize the whole thing. In other words he is the Scientest who knows better and we are just some diver cowboys that are trying to hype up some BS for the attention. If a Stanford Professor claims that Humboldt Squid are not dangerous, and some psycho divers from baja claim they are and offer tours with armor and steel cables who are you gonna believe. Of course if you are smart you are gonna believe the Professor. We just started to offer the dive trips this year. The previous 10 years of diving with the animals were done for personal interest and not for tours.


I have been a professional underwater adventure guide for a number of years now and have spent my whole life in the ocean. I am constantly reading reports, findings, thesises, etc. about the ocean. I have found that a great number of the people who are putting out these reports have spent very little time in the ocean with the animals they are claiming to know so much about. It seems to be that a person will do a study on lets say the "Humboldt Squid" They study in School all of the other studies that came out and they they begin to form an opinion. Then they get all of the research they have done and form a plan and get funded to go and do "research" with the animals. They go and dive for a couple of weeks and then leave the sea for years again. Then they publish their report about how the Humboldt squid behaves.....:lol:

I have had people tell me that 90% of the big fish in the ocean are gone.....:lol:

My opinion is that before a person is able to publish a report on an animal in the sea they should be required to spend a certain number of years in the water with that animal before they start giving their opinion. Then they wont jump to conclusions because they only spent a few weeks in the water.


"Well I went to africa and I walked the plains. I saw a pride of lions under a tree. I just walked by them and they stood up to look at me....they didnt attack though....I therefore surmise that lions only are dangerous to their normal food items like gazelle, they dont attack people."

Just for a disclaimer.....I have no formal education whatsoever. everything I know about the ocean was learned in the ocean. Im sure there are many scientests that have spent lots of time in the water but IMHO they are the expeption to the rule. I take alot of "experts" diving with animals in the sea and they all seem to have less than 100 dives.

It is our goal at SEA WOLVES UNLIMITED http://www.sea-wolves.com to provide this "in water" research to institutions free of charge. We are beginning to work with several very well know places to do real studies on the squid and find out more about them. Reading books is great, but I think there needs to be some new books written.

Hence the reason that "Demonio Rojo" was produced. Its not made to scare people, just to make them see the Humboldt Squid from our perspective.....In video not opinion.

Thanks for comming to the Show Monty! We are going to be having another show at the Natural History Museum with the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Scociety in Nov. if anyone wants to check it out again.

If anyone has questions please feel free to post them.


GTB (Dale Pearson)
www.sea-wolves.com
 
Hi, Dale, thanks for the detailed reply... I hope when I can scrounge the time and money to sign up for one of your dive trips that I can get the "special circumstances," because I would like to have the experience of feeling how the muscles of the squids interact with me one-on-one... I'm definitely convinced I'd want the chainmail, though!

With respect to Dr. Gilly, maybe I'm butting in too much, but I'd consider it a safe bet that if you guys and he were sitting around talking, you'd forget your differences (if there are any real ones in the first place) and find that you would end up with learning a lot from your shared fascination with these animals... in fact, I bet you would spend hours comparing what he's seen in non-interactive research with your direct experience.... I looked up the Outside Magazine article (starts here
and Gilly's quotes are on page 2) and looked at "Killer Squid" again on our TiVo, and I bet that Gilly's sections are biased deliberately because both of these authors seem to want to have two sides to show at opposition. Although the writers seem to love jumping on his "ET experience" story, there really aren't many (any?) quotes about Gilly saying "those guys are full of it," just sort of obtuse things like

Gilly is not a diver, but he scoffs at the idea that the animals are dangerous predators and says that most Humboldt attacks take place when the squid are excited by the presence of food. "They are equipped to do damage, but so is a dog," he concludes.

I'm pretty sure that Dr. Gilly as as aware of any of us that a dog is pretty much the same animal as a wolf, and is probably coming from the perspective that wolves have been hunted to near-extinction because of the perception that because they can and sometimes do kill people, that it's a good idea to "kill them before they kill us," and he (I'm guessing) wants to avoid that reaction from people. It seems to me, though, that anyone interacting with a pack of wolves or a pack of Dosidicus gigas should be aware that even though they may not attack a human, there's nothing stopping them from doing it.

And, to be fair, it's not really inaccurate to see Scott as sort of a "cowboy character," not that there's anything wrong with that, and in fact it's part of his charm, but maybe when these people are interviewing Dr. Gilly they tend to portray him as sort of an "African big game hunter guide" character, and then goad him into reacting to that portrayal... considering how displeased Scott was at how he was portrayed in "Killer Squid," I'd think he'd be willing to give Dr. Gilly the benefit of the doubt... I'd encourage you to check out his web pages:

Antarctica Expedition Cruises: Travel Cost & Tips
http://gilly.stanford.edu/

(aside: when I was looking for his web site, I also came across this
LA times article which again looks like the reporter "knew Gilly was the guy to call when you want the view that they're not that bad" or something)

Part of me is thinking I should :silenced: let sleeping dogs lie, but it seems unfortunate to have people who are passionately interested in study and conservation of these amazing animals (and who I have a great deal of respect for) be stuck in a state of frustration with one another.

Anyway, I encourage you to drop in and post more often-- I really enjoy seeing the pictures and videos, and hearing your stories about real-world experience with these wonderful squids!

It seems like there should be a diver's equivalent to "happy landings," but I can't think of one...
 
Monty,

Im sure you are right about Mr. Gilly being quoted out of context and that he is probably more open minded to our ideas than he has been portrayed. It is normal for those people (tv, news, print, etc) to try and get the most out of different views and try and start some sort of heated debates.

there is alot of Mr. Gillys research that I have studied about when he tagged the squids and the info he got off of them. There is no doubt that his research has yeilded many fantastic bits of info on the Humboldt Squid. If it were possible for us to send him and of our footage for him to review or for us to perform any type of experiments for him while we are in the field that would be great.

We are starting to work with a very large aquarium that is expressing the interest in having a Humboldt Squid exibit. that is where alot of info on their behavior can be gained.

I suppose my only difference of opinion on the animals is the actual behavior of them in the wild.

I guess when you dive with 6 ft Humboldt Squid for a living sometime people will look me in the face and say "ya know.....your crazy....."

The truth is, we are not crazy at all. Yes a Humboldt Squid can be lethal to a human in the water, but with the right equipment almost any type of activity can be safe. IE:

Shark dives (cage)
Jump out of a plane(parachute)
Space walk (space suit)
Squid dive (armor and steel cable)

Monty, I will let you hold a nice 5 footer (Im not sure hold is the right word) and see how they feel. They will try and bite you at first but if you hold them firmly but gently and dont hurt them they will calm down. I wish I could describe what its like to have one in your hands but all I can come up with is "Fu@$%NG Awsome..."


We are leaving on Sep the 8 for a shoot with the History Channel. We will be working on a show for the first HD series they are making. Its about the Humbold Squid and will have some great footage for sure. Ill post a trip report of the shoot with some pics when we get back.

:sink:

GTB
www.sea-wolves.com
 
gonetobaja;77805 said:
Monty, I will let you hold a nice 5 footer (Im not sure hold is the right word) and see how they feel. They will try and bite you at first but if you hold them firmly but gently and dont hurt them they will calm down. I wish I could describe what its like to have one in your hands but all I can come up with is "Fu@$%NG Awsome..."

:mrgreen: I wish I had the resources to do this now, but as soon as my company gets funded enough to pay me in money instead of just stock, I'll be in touch! (I probably should do a few "refresher" dives first, too, since I haven't been diving for years... I think my wet suit is gonna be too tight, as well... I am NAUI openwater II, though, so I'm not too clueless...) Thanks!

We are leaving on Sep the 8 for a shoot with the History Channel. We will be working on a show for the first HD series they are making. Its about the Humbold Squid and will have some great footage for sure. Ill post a trip report of the shoot with some pics when we get back.

Looking forward to it!
 

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