The thawing and examination
Since the colossal squid was given to Te Papa, staff at the museum have been investigating the best method of thawing it, examining it, and eventually displaying it.
Every part of this process requires great care, because squid are delicate animals and very easily damaged.
Thawing the frozen squid is the first challenge. There have been many suggestions (inlcuding 462 suggestions from the public!) about how to carry out this process. The temperature of the squid will be gradually raised, over several days, in the tank in which it will finally be preserved. It will be thawed in a saline solution to prevent decay of the outer tissue while the inner sections are still frozen. The squid might take up to four days to thaw.
Once un-frozen, the squid will be carefully treated with preservative. Scientists will examine it, first to determine its sex – although it is probably a female. They will measure it, and examine the stomach contents to gather information on its diet. They will also take small tissue samples, for analysis by researchers. But all of this will be done as carefully as possible, keeping the squid intact.
Preparing it for display
Eventually the colossal squid will be displayed, laid out in a natural position, in a tank of propylene glycol preservative. The move from the temporary to the final tank has taken place on the 6 August 2008 and has been webcast live. The exhibition is due to open at Te Papa on 13 December. Follow the questions that still arise while preparing the exhibition on our blog.
Read the story of what happened on our blog
> Preparing the tank
> Testing a colossal ice block
> Taken out of the freezer
> Thawing begins
> Removing the net
> Defrosting
> Bringing the colossal squid back to life
> Formalin fixing
> More about the formalin
Schedule
Sunday, 27 April: Giant squid removal from freezer
Monday, 28 April: Small colossal squid removal from freezer. Examination of giant squid
3pm: large colossal squid removal from freezer.
Tuesday, 29 April: Examination of giant squid specimen; afternoon: examination of small colossal specimen.
Wednesday, 30 April: Before 11am: Unfolding and examination of the larger colossal squid
11am-2pm: Media
2pm-onwards: Filming by Discovery Channel
5pm: Defrost continues
9pm: Fixation of specimens in formalin
1 May: > Series of lectures - The Quest for knowledge: the elusive giant and colossal squid
> Science Express - Colossal squid: the dissection
The lectures will be recorded and available from this website later on.
2 May: Series of lectures - The Quest of knowledge: the elusive giant and colossal squid
The lectures will be recorded and available from this website later on.
6 August: The squid is moved to its final display tank.
31 August: The documentary made during the thawing is aired on Discovery Channel for the first time.
Can I know more about Te Papa’s colossal squid?
The colossal squid weighs 495 kg – that’s the average weight of a young cow. Its beak measures 42.5 mm.
> More about the specimen's measurements
It's a female that was bearing eggs.
> More about the eggs
In the collapsed state the eyes have been found, they measure 25 cm across, but in the living animal they are probably larger, up to around 30 cm in diameter. These are without doubt the largest eyes that have ever been studied (and probably among the largest eyes that have existed during the history of the animal kingdom).
> More about the eyes
> What was the smell like during the examination
> What does touching a colossal squid feel like
> Biology of the colossal squid
Te Papa is delighted to acknowledge the support of the Discovery Channel in the preservation of the colossal squid specimen. Their support will also include the entire thaw and examination process being filmed by Natural History New Zealand for a Discovery Channel in-depth documentary programme to be released worldwide in late 2008.
The squidcam broadcast on 6 August was brought to you in high definition over the REANNZ KAREN network powered by TelstraClear, Te Papa's leading telecommunications partner.