Head to head
Sperm Whale vs Colossal Squid
The sperm whale is the largest toothed predator on Earth; the colossal squid is the largest invertebrate. They meet a kilometre or more down in the dark Southern Ocean, where the whale hunts the squid. Almost everything known about the encounter comes from squid beaks in whale stomachs and circular scars on whale skin.
| Sperm Whale | Colossal Squid | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Males to ~18 m and 57 tonnes | To ~10 m and ~500 kg |
| Role | Predator | Prey |
| Dive depth | Routinely 1–2 km, sometimes deeper | Lives mostly 1–2 km down |
| How it finds the other | Echolocation — the loudest animal on Earth | Huge eyes to spot the whale’s glow and flee |
| Weapons | Large conical teeth in the lower jaw; sheer mass | Rotating arm hooks and a large sharp beak |
| Evidence of encounters | Circular sucker and hook scars on the head | Beaks accumulate by the thousand in whale stomachs |
| Daily intake | Hundreds of squid a day | About 30 g of prey a day (very low metabolism) |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable | Least Concern |
Sperm Whale vs Colossal Squid: common questions
Do sperm whales really fight giant and colossal squid?
They hunt them. Sperm whales dive deep to catch squid, including the giant and colossal squid, and eat huge numbers of smaller squid too. Many sperm whales carry round scars on their heads from squid suckers and hooks, showing the squid resist, but there is no evidence a squid has ever killed a healthy adult whale.
Could a colossal squid kill a sperm whale?
Almost certainly not a full-grown one — the size difference is around 100 to 1. A large squid might injure the face or mouth of a juvenile whale, or make a whale abandon a difficult catch, but the squid has no way to deliver a lethal attack on an animal that size.
How does a sperm whale catch a squid in the dark?
With sound. The sperm whale produces powerful directional clicks from the huge spermaceti organ in its head and reads the echoes to locate squid in complete darkness. Some researchers think the clicks may also be strong enough to briefly stun or disorient prey at close range, though this is unproven.