Qiant Squid Have Invaded Bodega Bay, California

Bodega Bay was the location of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller, The Birds. That was scary but not as scary as the reality that hit Bodega Bay over the last few months. This time the small maritime town was invaded by thousands of giant squid. The squid usually found off the west coast of Mexico have apparently migrated north due to water temperature rising along the northern coast of California.

Bodega Bay is north of San Francisco and quite the fisherman's paradise. Many sport fishing boats head into the Bay for large game fish. However, they never expected to have 100 pound, 8 foot long squid attack their bait. These squid are large enough and have enough strength to easily kill a swimmer. What is worse is they have beaks that can rend the flesh of an individual. Worse yet is that they hunt in packs, forcing their prey to the surface and then attacking in a feeding frenzy.

So far no residents of the town have fallen prey to these carnivorous calamari, but in Mexico where they usually reside, attacks on humans are not unknown. In fact the residents have been catching the squid and serving them up fried, baked or broiled.

They make excellent eating and at 100 pounds each can provide many a gourmet with dinner and leftovers for a week.

So just when a very scary thing starts to be a sushi fancier's delight what happens? They just disappear from the vicinity. The thousands of artillery shell shaped marauders apparently decided to go back to the Mexican west coast where they are looked upon with fear rather than with hungry eyes by the residents.

One thing that seems likely to happen though is that like the swallows that come back to Capistrano, the giant squid will return to Bodega Bay next year when the water temperature is just perfect for them to move to the more northern habitat.

In the meanwhile this is a chance that Hollywood can't miss. There are bound to be a slew of new movies with names like Tentacles, Beaks Of Fury, or just plain The Squid. The gourmet channel will feature Squid as the surprise ingredient on The Iron Chef. Of course Japan will start to produce giant squid movies and horror films. What will they be called Squidzilla, Squidra, or some other name similar to the great cinematic successes they have had in the past. One thing for sure, the Japanese will be very happy that their new monsters are for once not picking on Tokyo.