limbo Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 This has been known for a while and I wrote about this a while ago already on my dive blog. Divers Alert network has a project about this; Can You Help With DAN's Jellyfish Investigation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 They have been observed pursuing prey. They aren't like the more familiar jellyfish that just drift. Their normal environment is the shallows off of beaches where they drag their tentacles in search of small fish and crustaceans. They swim into mangrove swamps to spawn. They are generally more of a threat during wet season afaik. I'm off to Cairns and Phuket in December and will be doubly shitting a brick now... I think it's good that the Thai's have been open about this. A number of Australian local authorities used to play down the threat so as not to affect tourism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 And I thought swimming with venomous sea snakes was bad enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 These things make snakes look cuddly.. At least high season should be relatively clear of them. I suspect they have been around the whole time but there weren't enough people encountering them who knew what they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 I once saw a lot of jellyfish washed up on a Thai beach. They were small and ordinary looking though, nothing like these monsters:. << Box jellyfish venom is the most deadly in the animal kingdom and has caused at least 5,567 recorded deaths since 1954. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 The good point of most dangerous animals is they are usually more afraid than you are thus they run away and only attack if cornered... Problem with these ones and a few others is they don't run... I think I remember (thanks again national geographic) that there is a blue-yellow octopus which qualifies as absolutely deadly... I understand now why it has been years since I didn't swim in the sea. Better be dumb than having watched "cultural" TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 The good point of most dangerous animals is they are usually more afraid than you are thus they run away and only attack if cornered... Problem with these ones and a few others is they don't run... I think I remember (thanks again national geographic) that there is a blue-yellow octopus which qualifies as absolutely deadly... I understand now why it has been years since I didn't swim in the sea. Better be dumb than having watched "cultural" TV The blue ringed octopus has a venomous bite, but you're aren't likely to encounter one let alone provoke it into biting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 I once saw a lot of jellyfish washed up on a Thai beach. They were small and ordinary looking though, nothing like these monsters:. << Box jellyfish venom is the most deadly in the animal kingdom and has caused at least 5,567 recorded deaths since 1954. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish I doubt that stat.. There have been less than 80 in Australia in over 100 years. Saw a documentary once where a scientist had himself stung so he could test the efficacy of vinegar and metholated spirits as a first aid treatment. The vinegar helped, but the meths made it worse. You could see the effect on him. He wasn't enjoying it at all..... The pain is said to be extremely intense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 If you're going to Cairns in December keep out of the sea. There's no swimming in Cairns anyway, you have to go north the the beaches. There used to be great swimming in the rivers and dams in the mountains around Kuranda which is also well away from crocodile territory. (Apart from the odd Freshy but they only give a bit of a nip). The Wiki stat seems a bit high, I suspect that there is a lot in the sea that bites or stings that people may be allergic to, similar to bees, and sea wasps get the blame. I've been stung by jellyfish in the sea at Adelaide that left great red weals that weren't really painful and disappeared in a couple of hours. I've also been stung by jellyfish at Patong Beach, Phuket, without any ill effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 If you're going to Cairns in December keep out of the sea. There's no swimming in Cairns anyway, you have to go north the the beaches. There used to be great swimming in the rivers and dams in the mountains around Kuranda which is also well away from crocodile territory. (Apart from the odd Freshy but they only give a bit of a nip). I've also been stung by jellyfish at Patong Beach, Phuket, without any ill effects. http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/box-jellyfish.html I'd be too chicken to swim up there, even in the rivers... You see the odd croc warning around which is enough to keep me well away from the water. They captured a croc at a beach (maybe Holloway's) last time I was there. I bought a prescription dive mask that I was planning to wear for snorkelling at Phi Phi and hope to try them out this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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