As the figurative saying goes, lightning never strikes twice. But for Edie Widder, it has.

In 2012, Widder, senior scientist and CEO of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association, was part of the first team to capture a giant squid on video off Japan.

And this month, in a mission funded by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Widder and Sönke Johnsen led a team of explorers that captured the elusive giant squid on camera again. This time they saw it in the Gulf of Mexico in U.S. waters, about 100 miles southeast of New Orleans. It was the first time that a giant squid has been filmed in its habitat in America's backyard.

"For biologists, this is what happens when you strike gold; none of us could believe what we were a part of – what we had seen," Nathan Robinson, director of the Cape Eleuthera Institute and who was on the mission, told USA TODAY.

They were using a special camera called the Medusa to do so, developed by Widder herself with Johnsen and another partner, Justin Marshall.

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The camera went into the depths with a special attachment they called an "e-jelly," or an electronic jellyfish, to attract the creatures of the deep sea. It would float and record for 24 hours at a clip, Robinson said.

Then came the moment they had been waiting for.

"Downloading the footage can take about half a day," Robinson said. "We recover the camera and over the next evening or day or so, Edie and I take turns downloading and reviewing the footage as it comes through."

Robinson was reviewing tape the team captured during the fifth deployment of the Medusa in the ship's lab when he caught a glimpse of what he thought might be a giant squid.

They had reviewed 120 hours of tape total by that point, he said.

"I'm wracking my brains like 'is this the moment we're waiting for?'" Robinson said. "It was this dawning realization that you're probably witnessing a bit of history."

Eyes bulging, he rushed to fetch Widder from the ship's mess hall so that she could see, too.

The footage shows the giant squid stalking the e-jelly and wrapping its tentacles around it before pulling away. The video reveals, Widder said, that the giant squid is not a "sit and wait" creature, but instead an assertive hunter.

The environment was electric as the team scrambled to confirm what they thought they saw. Widder said that while internet was down due to a squall raging on outside, they were consulting any squid experts on board as they huddled around the computer.

Then, literal lightning struck and the captain informed the crew that a water spout was forming on the open ocean, Widder said.

"It very much felt like Poseidon was trying to keep his secrets," Widder said.

More than anything, Widder said they were scared that the bolt of lightning that had produced a plume of smoke and strewn bits of antenna across the deck had inadvertently deleted the video footage, too.

"With no land in sight, it was kind of a disturbing feeling," Widder said.

Luckily, the footage was safe, as was the 23-person crew. And they had indeed found exactly what they were looking for.

The remaining few days of the cruise, Robinson said, were filled with elation.

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Little is known about the giant squid and its habits, and this footage revealed just a bit more on that subject, Robinson and Widder said. At this stage of exploration, Robinson said that any bit of footage can be revealing.

As a conservationist, Robinson worries about taking care of a creature with a habitat that we know little about. Without sightings such as the one they had, giant squids could fall out of existence without humans even knowing.

The video was taken with the largest oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in sight on the horizon, according to Robinson.

"We know there are countless deep-sea animals around the world suffering from habitat degradation, plastic pollution or contaminants in the water," he said. "It (the giant squid) could be thriving, but it also could be pushed into nonexistence."

Their next exploration isn't planned yet, but Widder said that the team is already talking about what is to come.

"We would love to move out into international waters – the Indian Ocean is of particular interest," Widder said.

The only way to protect animals like the giant squid and others that are unknown is to learn more about them, Robinson said.

"Life is complicated and this is the only rock in the universe about how it sustains life," Widder said. "We need to know a lot more about how it does that – for giant squid and for humans."

And the giant squid itself wouldn't be the only thing to disappear if its environment isn't protected.

"All the mythology around it like the kraken, unless we're careful we could lose that," Robinson said. "I think that's kind of a huge loss to civilization."

Follow Morgan Hines on Twitter: @MorganEmHines.