It was an odd start to the morning Saturday in La Jolla, Calif.
First, residents were jostled out of bed at 7.34 a.m. by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake that was centered 19 miles out in the ocean.
โI was having coffee up on the balcony and I felt it shaking,โ Kate Lutkemeier said.
She wasnโt the only one.
โI heard my doors and windows rattling, thinking that somebody was trying to get in my front door actually,โ La Jolla resident Mary Skeen said.
The quake was felt all over the county, which isnโt uncommon in San Diego — but what happened just minutes later was a little fishy.
โWe just got here about 15 minutes ago and Lilly, what did you see on the beach?โ John Feher asked his little daughter.
โSquid, squid, squid, squid, squid.โ she replied.
Dozens of dazed Humboldt squid, which were roughly three- to four-feet long and weighed close to 40 pounds, were found flapping around on La Jolla Shores beach.
โItโs like their equilibrium is all messed up and they donโt know what theyโre doing and they canโt back out there,โ said beachgoer Bill Baumann. โIt was like they got — I donโt know — all shook up.โ
It didnโt 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 didnโt know which way to go and kept washing back up on shore.
โSome people were saying it was the earthquake this morning that caused them to get disoriented, but who knows? Feher said.
He wasnโt the only person to mention that theory.
โA state guy was out and said the earthquake caused (it),โ Baumann said.
Lifeguard Sgt. David Rains said that is one of several possibilities. Another potential cause is there were a lot of fishing boats in the area, creating a significant fish activity and squid follow the food supply. He also said there have been a lot of water inversions, with the water turning from warm to cold, which could be the cause. But he doesnโt know for sure.
โWhy are they here? Why are the squid here? I canโt honestly tell you,โ Sgt. Rains said. โI donโt know if itโs tied or not to the earthquake.โ
According to the lifeguard, swimmers should be wary of the creatures and keep their distance.
โThe Humboldt squid can be very big and very powerful and they may be dangerous,โ Sgt. Rains said. โItโs just something I wouldnโt mess with until youโre sure that itโs dead. Theyโve got a lot of suckers and claws and a parrot-like beak and they can inflict some damage.โ
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.
โI have never seen squid in the 42 years that Iโve lived here on the shores in La Jolla,โ 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.
โIs it a mystery?โ Feher asked his little daughter Lilly.
โYeah,โ she replied.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- 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.
- 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.
- Another potential cause is there were a lot of fishing boats in the area, creating a significant fish activity and squid follow the food supply.