Posted on 07/12/2009 8:07:07 PM PDT by null and void
Jumbo Humboldt squid wash up minutes after 4.0 earthquake hit off the coast of La Jolla
It was an odd start to the morning in La Jolla. First residents were jolted out of bed at 7.34 a.m. by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake that was centered 19 miles out to sea.
First residents were jolted out of bed by an earthquake, which is not uncommon in San Diego, but what happened just minutes later was a little fishy.
“I was having coffee up on the balcony and I felt it shaking,” Kate Lutkemeier said.
She wasn’t the only one.
“I heard my doors and windows rattling, thinking that somebody was trying to get in my front door actually,” La Jolla resident Mary Skeen said.
The quake was felt all over the county, which isn’t uncommon in San Diego -- but what happened just minutes later was a little fishy.
“We just got here about 15 minutes ago and Lilly, what did you see on the beach?” John Feher asked his little daughter. “Squid, squid, squid, squid, squid.” she replied.
Dozens of dazed Humboldt squid that were about three to four feet long and weighed close to 40 pounds were flapping around on La Jolla Shores beach.
“It’s like their equilibrium is all messed up and they don’t know what they’re doing and they can’t back out there,” Bill Baumann said. “It was like they got -- I don’t know -- all shook up.”
It didn’t take long for the seagulls to swoop in and start feeding on the squid, so beachgoers ran to the rescue and tried frantically to save them by throwing them back in the water. That proved to be a difficult task for several reasons -- they were extremely heavy, very slippery, and when the good Samaritans did manage to get them back them in water, the squid didn’t know where to go and kept washing back up.
“Some people were saying it was the earthquake this morning that caused them to get disoriented but who knows? Feher said.
He wasn’t the only person to mention that theory.
“A state guy was out and said the earthquake caused (it),” Baumann said.
Lifeguard Sgt. David Rains said that is one of several possibilities -- there are a lot of fishing boats in the area so there is a lot of fish activity and those kind of creatures always follow the food supply. He also said there have been a lot of water inversions and the water has turned from warm to cold -- but he doesn’t know for sure.
“Why are they here? Why are the squid here? I can’t honestly tell you,” Sgt. Rains said. “I don’t if it’s tied or not to the earthquake.”
According to the lifeguard, swimmers should be wary of the creatures and keep their distance.
“The Humboldt squid can be very big and very powerful and they may be dangerous,” Sgt. Rains said. “It’s just something I wouldn’t mess with until you’re sure that it’s dead. They’ve got a lot of suckers and claws and a parrot like beak and they can inflict some damage.”
A spokesman for Scripps Institution of Oceanography said at this point they do not see a connection between the squid and the earthquake, but plan to look into it. Dozens of squid washing up at the same time is unusual but it has happened before, according to Sgt. Rains. But Mary Skeen said it is a first for her.
“I have never seen squid in the 42 years that I’ve lived here on the shores in La Jolla,” she said.
For now there are more questions than answers; did the earthquake cause the squid to wash up or was it simply a coincidence? Just ask the little girl who helped daddy push some alien looking creatures back out to sea.
“Is it a mystery?” Feher asked his little daughter Lilly. “Yeah,” she replied.
I needed that. Things have been so dismal, politically speaking.
[source - Drudge, today]
I didn’t know that squid wear pants suits!
“But it is better to look good than to feel good...and you, Madam Secretary, do not look mahvelous!”
Did Michele beat her up to the tune of “Beat it”?
Humboldt squid = congresscritters. No wonder they aren't kosher.
Thanks for posting that picture.
First, I am glad she is healing from her injury, and wish her good health.
Second, isn’t it rather odd that we only barely heard about her fall/injury in the MSM????
Like the woman who comes to work with a black eye, and says she ran into the door?
Looks like she has a new attitude as well.
My husband is a geologist. He said there was possibly a compression wave, from the earthquake, like a small bomb going off, that shocked the squid. How can there be ‘no correlation?’
Those squid down in the Sea of Cortez have been known to attack swimmers devour human flesh. They attack in swarms at night from the deep. Not recommended for night time swimming if they are found in groups in the area.
from the article
“got a lot of suckers and claws and a parrot like beak and they can inflict some damage.”
would be a good caption for the picture.
You must have watched that Monster Quest show.
parsy, who knows Big Foot exists
where do I get a fancy black arm sling WITH A PRESIDENTIAL SEAL?
Because they need time to think up some way to blame it on human-caused global warming.
That’s the seal of the Secretary of State...
“beachgoers ran to the rescue and tried frantically to save them by throwing them back in the water.”
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Bunny huggers are funny.
Don’t you think it strange that her thighness has been sent out to pasture lately?
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