New Zealand fishermen have caught a huge colossal squid weighing 450kg in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.
At 39 feet long, the rare deep sea creature could turn out to be the biggest of its kind ever caught after fisherman struggled for nearly two hours to gain control of the mollusc.
The animals are so rare that they were only pictured alive for the first time two years ago and were only filmed in December last year. Usually they are picked up once they have died and found floating on the surface.
On average the giant squid can cover a surface area equal to a tennis court and experts believe that if this particular animal was cut up into calamari rings, they would be size of tractor tyres.
New Zealand is a famous sea-faring nation offering many water sports around its coastline and is host to some of the world's most prestigious sailing events.
One recent adventure tour on offer off the south coast of the South Island is iceberg exploring. Private planes take off from the coast and land on icebergs that have broken off from Antarctica before letting tourists get out and explore.
For those aged under 36 who are off on an extended trip,
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