Deadly jellyfish hits UK beaches
source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Jellyfish-Like-Man-O-Wars-Are-Washing-Up-On-UK-Beac...
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- GeoffNI
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Reports of the jellyfish-like floating colonies have been recorded along the coasts of Dorset, Cornwall and Devon.
The long tentacles of a Man o' War can produce an extremely painful and possibly dangerous sting.
And Peter Richardson, of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), has told Sky News Online there could be even more of the siphonophores in British waters throughout the summer.
The normally tropical creatures have an 'inflatable sail' that lets the wind blow them across the water. Mr Richardson said strong gusts have probably pushed them north to the UK.
Their stinging tentacles can grow up to 50 metres long.
Mr Richardson, the MCS' biodiversity programme manger, said washed up Man o' Wars will die and eventually break down - but they can still sting if the tentacles are wet.
In rare cases, Man o' War stings have killed people "but it's not like the Box Jellyfish where there's a good chance you're going to die," Mr Richardson added.
Nevertheless, he warned people to seek medical assistance if they are worried about a sting.
The RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service said UK sightings included a live six-inch Man o' War at Kimmeridge Bay and others in Burton Bradstock and Durdle Door, Dorset.
A seven-year-old boy was treated after getting stung on the leg while paddling at nearby Charmouth, according to the Daily Mirror.
The creatures - that are not classed as jellyfish - are usually found in places like the Florida Keys and Atlantic coast, the Gulf Stream, the Gulf of Mexico, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.
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asherp
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What the heck are they doing in England?
Shouldn't they have died somewhere along the way?
Global warming anyone?
- 3 years ago
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asherp
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Mr_Costello
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It crawls.... It creeps.... It eats you alive!"
- 3 years ago
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Mr_Costello
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Beta_Boy
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No way! Those things are evil, have you seen what they can do to you?
- 3 years ago
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Beta_Boy
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AxeRFJ
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This is going on all around the Earth. Obviously the water is getting hotter and causing a reaction in the oceans. Mother Nature is giving us signs!
- 3 years ago
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AxeRFJ
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DonPatch
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Kinda Looks Like a Plastic Bag lol
- 3 years ago
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DonPatch
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Elligirl
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Why are painful and dangerous things so beautiful?
- 3 years ago
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Elligirl
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lifestudentno83
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Elligirl:
That's a good question. As if nature is warning us the beautiful things are often the most dangerous.
- 3 years ago
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lifestudentno83
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kewal91
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Elligirl:
well that explains my luck with the ladies............
- 3 years ago
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kewal91
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lifestudentno83
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Rather be stung by this than a Box Jellyfish. Although almost any animal in Australia is about twice as dangerous as animals in most places.
- 3 years ago
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lifestudentno83
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kewal91
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yeah..... deadly jellyfish...............isnt this how the shark got started...
- 3 years ago
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kewal91
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malathion
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rendered into sushi they wouldn't be as deadly as a puffer- but just novel enough to insure their (near ) extinction .
- 3 years ago
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malathion
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24French
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But soon they'll be giant jellyfish! Soon we'll be buying it shrink-wrapped in the stores.
- 3 years ago
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24French
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HappyYoga
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To call them deadly seems going over board a bit. We have these here so very often and have yet to hear of a fatality from them.
- 3 years ago
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HappyYoga
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Vierotchka
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HappyYoga:
A large, adult man o'war can indeed kill someone.
- 3 years ago
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Vierotchka
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phillyharper
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These have got to be some of the weirdest creatures ever! Can we blow them all back south again? And what stops seagulls popping them?
- 3 years ago
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phillyharper
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