Hi, Dale, thanks for the detailed reply... I hope when I can scrounge the time and money to sign up for one of your dive trips that I can get the "special circumstances," because I would like to have the experience of feeling how the muscles of the squids interact with me one-on-one... I'm definitely convinced I'd want the chainmail, though!
With respect to Dr. Gilly, maybe I'm butting in too much, but I'd consider it a safe bet that if you guys and he were sitting around talking, you'd forget your differences (if there are any real ones in the first place) and find that you would end up with learning a lot from your shared fascination with these animals... in fact, I bet you would spend hours comparing what he's seen in non-interactive research with your direct experience.... I looked up the Outside Magazine article (starts
here
and Gilly's quotes are on
page 2) and looked at "Killer Squid" again on our TiVo, and I bet that Gilly's sections are biased deliberately because both of these authors seem to want to have two sides to show at opposition. Although the writers seem to love jumping on his "ET experience" story, there really aren't many (any?) quotes about Gilly saying "those guys are full of it," just sort of obtuse things like
Gilly is not a diver, but he scoffs at the idea that the animals are dangerous predators and says that most Humboldt attacks take place when the squid are excited by the presence of food. "They are equipped to do damage, but so is a dog," he concludes.
I'm pretty sure that Dr. Gilly as as aware of any of us that a dog is pretty much the same animal as a wolf, and is probably coming from the perspective that wolves have been hunted to near-extinction because of the perception that because they can and sometimes do kill people, that it's a good idea to "kill them before they kill us," and he (I'm guessing) wants to avoid that reaction from people. It seems to me, though, that anyone interacting with a pack of wolves or a pack of Dosidicus gigas should be aware that even though they may not attack a human, there's nothing stopping them from doing it.
And, to be fair, it's not really inaccurate to see Scott as sort of a "cowboy character," not that there's anything wrong with that, and in fact it's part of his charm, but maybe when these people are interviewing Dr. Gilly they tend to portray him as sort of an "African big game hunter guide" character, and then goad him into reacting to that portrayal... considering how displeased Scott was at how he was portrayed in "Killer Squid," I'd think he'd be willing to give Dr. Gilly the benefit of the doubt... I'd encourage you to check out his web pages:
Antarctica Expedition Cruises: Travel Cost & Tips
http://gilly.stanford.edu/
(aside: when I was looking for his web site, I also came across this
LA times article which again looks like the reporter "knew Gilly was the guy to call when you want the view that they're not that bad" or something)
Part of me is thinking I should
let sleeping dogs lie, but it seems unfortunate to have people who are passionately interested in study and conservation of these amazing animals (and who I have a great deal of respect for) be stuck in a state of frustration with one another.
Anyway, I encourage you to drop in and post more often-- I really enjoy seeing the pictures and videos, and hearing your stories about real-world experience with these wonderful squids!
It seems like there should be a diver's equivalent to "happy landings," but I can't think of one...