A huge jellyfish whose tentacles are more than 100 feet long washed up on a Portland beach in the U.S. with authorities warning swimmers.
The nearly 1.5-meter-wide jellyfish was spotted in the waters of Willard Beach in southern Portland, the city announced on Facebook. “Don’t touch it! It stings,” authorities warned, posting a photo of the jellyfish.
“Observe. She’s very interesting to look at and she’s beautiful. If you see one washing up on the beach, alert a lifeguard and they will help it back to the sea with a shovel,” the statement said.
According to the New York Post, this one is called the lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) and is commonly found in colder waters, from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, along the coasts of Alaska and Washington. This species has up to 1,200 tentacles divided into eight groups.
“They hurt,” Dr. Jerome Piniti, a scientist at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, told WMTW about the sting of this particular species of jellyfish. As he said, “They are generally not dangerous unless you are allergic. If you do get stung, you should try to remove the tentacles with sand or salt water.”
According to the publication, other symptoms can include skin irritation, burning, swelling and in more severe cases, nausea, confusion, dizziness, difficulty breathing, muscle aches and even heart complications.
Ask me anything
Explore related questions