“Wheke,” the giant calamari that invaded New Zealand in January 2000, went on display in Paris today. The massive tentacles almost make Wheke look like a space marauder or crazed mutant by themselves, but they’re not what make him science-fictional. Rather, it’s the process used to preserve Wheke so he can go on display for years to come: he’s the first creature to be “plastinated,” meaning that he was totally dehydrated and all fluids were replaced by a special plastic resin. The next step: to create a living plastic, so plastinated creatures can continue to move and even think. Click through for a gallery of Wheke pictures.
Images by Stephane De Sakutin for AFP/Getty Images
