Underwater Wildlife
When we returned to Gairloch Harbor on Saturday morning, we had a nice stroll along the pier. I noticed something orange in the water and spent some time trying to suss out what it was. I finally pointed it out to Steve and asked, "Is that coral stuck to a rock or something under the water? . . . Or maybe just a rock?"
Steve had other ideas. It was moving. It was a jellyfish! Just as we were marveling over the discovery, a second jellyfish rose into view. I was fairly certain I knew what they were, too: lion's mane jellyfish. I had read a couple of news articles in previous weeks about this type of jellyfish washing up on some Scottish beaches. While not deadly, a lion's mane jellyfish has a nasty sting that feels like an electric shock.
The two jellyfish were each a good size, though not nearly as big as they can get. The bells were between twelve and eighteen inches across. They can grow to around seven feet wide, so these were babies. One of the jellyfish submerged out of sight, but the other remained in view for quite awhile.
I found it incredibly interesting as it undulated about. Sometimes the bell was inverse. Sometimes it looked round. Other times it looked like an ink blot.
I took dozens of photos. The problem is I still haven't worked through all of my camera's functions and settings. I've got so much going on that sitting down with my camera doesn't make it very high on my To Do list. But I have to rectify that because my ignorance cost me some pretty spectacular photos.
I am sharing the photos here, but they aren't the best. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my camera was focusing on the tiny bits of stuff floating on the water's surface and not the actual jellyfish. So the debris is crystal clear, and the jellyfish is kind of fuzzy. But I hope you can still get an idea of how incredible this animal was.
Its bell was concave at this point.
The lion's mane is the largest jellyfish in the world with tentacles that can grow to over 600 feet in length! It must grow pretty quickly because it only lives for about a year.
This fellow already has pretty long tentacles.
It didn't take us long to see what had attracted the jellyfish in the first place: A school of small fish.
I think the jellyfish caught some of the fish here.
Here's a marked-up copy of the photo. See how some of the tentacles are kinked up? They would look like that as the jellyfish dragged in its stunned prey. The arrow is pointing at what I think might be a fish.
The jellyfish went upside down here, giving an excellent view of its underside. What an incredible animal!
To read more about the lion's mane jellyfish, check out this page: http://oceana.org/marine-life/corals-and-other-invertebrates/lions-mane-jellyfish.
Steve had other ideas. It was moving. It was a jellyfish! Just as we were marveling over the discovery, a second jellyfish rose into view. I was fairly certain I knew what they were, too: lion's mane jellyfish. I had read a couple of news articles in previous weeks about this type of jellyfish washing up on some Scottish beaches. While not deadly, a lion's mane jellyfish has a nasty sting that feels like an electric shock.
The two jellyfish were each a good size, though not nearly as big as they can get. The bells were between twelve and eighteen inches across. They can grow to around seven feet wide, so these were babies. One of the jellyfish submerged out of sight, but the other remained in view for quite awhile.
I found it incredibly interesting as it undulated about. Sometimes the bell was inverse. Sometimes it looked round. Other times it looked like an ink blot.
I took dozens of photos. The problem is I still haven't worked through all of my camera's functions and settings. I've got so much going on that sitting down with my camera doesn't make it very high on my To Do list. But I have to rectify that because my ignorance cost me some pretty spectacular photos.
I am sharing the photos here, but they aren't the best. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my camera was focusing on the tiny bits of stuff floating on the water's surface and not the actual jellyfish. So the debris is crystal clear, and the jellyfish is kind of fuzzy. But I hope you can still get an idea of how incredible this animal was.
Here you can see the thick collection of central tentacles beneath the bell.
To read more about the lion's mane jellyfish, check out this page: http://oceana.org/marine-life/corals-and-other-invertebrates/lions-mane-jellyfish.
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