Marine scientists can only imagine the creatures that inhabit the Antarctic waters, as they decided to unfreeze a giant squid caught by accident in the Ross Sea in February last year and analyze it. The thawing process began on Monday afternoon in Wellington, New Zealand, at the country’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, and will last until Wednesday, when they will prepare to dissect it.

The 1,000-pound, 34-feet (10 meters) long squid is a giant and incredibly rare specimen found in the cold Antarctic waters, but it’s presumably not the largest, as scientists estimated it could normally grow up to 50 feet (15 meters) long, which is about the size of a sperm whale. The squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is one of the few such specimens ever caught, and scientists are putting a lot of work into its thawing process, so as not to alter it.

Steve O’Shea, an expert at Auckland’s University of Technology, who will take part in the examination, said in an interview with the national radio that the scientists are still trying to figure out how big these specimens could grow based on the size of their beaks.

Beaks found in the stomachs of sperm whales, which were much larger than that of the frozen specimen, indicated that the giant squid is not only an aggressive creature, but could also weigh probably by up to three quarters of a tone. Furthermore, the assumptions are also based on the known fact that females are usually larger than males.

This exemplary in particular is believed to be a male, which would be a first among the few specimens ever brought to surface by marine scientists. For the time being, the squid appears to be in good condition, and the thaw process is going well (the specimen has been moved from the freezer into a tank filled with salty water).

After scientists will examine the content of its stomach, to make an idea on the squid’s diet and way of life, the giant creature will be displayed in a tank filled with propylene glycol preservative at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.