Thousands of uninvited guests have popped up in the waters and on beaches in the San Diego area - huge squid. Not your ordinary squid, but colossal 300-pounders that can leap out of the water and even fly short distances along the waves. Known as the Humboldt squid, the slimy, reddish creatures are extremely aggressive and can even attack on land. Typically found in deep waters farther south off the coast of Mexico, they have shown up in huge numbers along San Diego area beaches, due to strong currents.

So far there have been numerous reports of surfers, divers and swimmers being attacked by the giant cephalopods, with some unfortunate people suffering massive lacerations from the razor-sharp beaks and jagged tentacles, and even a few incidents of amputations. While no deaths have been reported yet, experts believe it’s just a matter of time.

“The bigger ones are particularly dangerous,” cautioned Josh Metzger, marine biology professor at San Diego State University. “A full-size Humboldt squid can grab an adult swimmer or surfer with its tentacles, pull him down and drown him. Then it has lunch. These creatures are not to be taken lightly.”

Beach-goers are well aware of the dangers.

“I saw one of those suckers skipping along the surface of the water,” exclaimed an unidentified surfer at La Jolla beach. “Dude, that thing was chasing a kid on a paddleboard. It got him too - took the poor guy’s right leg clean off! That’s some nasty shit right there!”

Reports of squid landing on beaches and crawling after sunbathers has resulted in nearly empty beaches from Coronado all the way north to Carlsbad. Humboldt squid can use its tentacles as makeshift legs, enabling the invertebrate to travel upwards of 10 to 12 miles per hour on land. Small children are particularly at risk, as the squid can eat them whole.

“Damn things have a genuine appetite for human flesh,” warned Matt Lopez, a lifeguard on duty at Imperial Beach, south of San Diego. “We are constantly giving first aid to people around here. The county is considering closing the beaches until the squid move on.”

“Used to be we only had to worry about Tijuana Brown Trout,” added a surfer at Imperial. “Now we have to be on the lookout for giant squid that knock you off your board and take an arm or leg off? Fuck that, I’m staying out of the water until that shit passes.”

Not surprisingly, squid is turning up on the menus of many restaurants in southern California, and is considered by some to be quite tasty.