As the scorching summer of Australia continues, an amazing image of a jellyfish that looks like melting ice cream.
Jellyfishes are one of the many animals that have washed up on beaches in Australia after large swells in the ocean and warm weather.
As a result of those 2 things, a jellyfish invasion is happening.
Kerryn Bell, a person that runs a boat tour group in the area, said the jellyfish that was caught on cam appeared as they were melting on the hot sand.
During an interview with the local news, Bell said, “They came in during the big tides we had, and they’ve been sitting out in the hot sun, and it looks like they’re starting to melt.”
Bell added, “I’ve never seen that before. It was like looking at melting ice cream.”
Dr. Adele Pile, a marine expert, says it is completely normal for a jellyfish to look like its melting after they die.
During an interview with 9News, Dr. Pile said, “They aren’t melting from the heat, this is just a normal part of their life cycle. Jellyfish normally have a lifespan of about a year.”
She added, “We’re at the end of summer, there’s been a big plankton boom and these guys have gorged themselves and now have enough energy to reproduce and now their life cycle is over.”
She continued, “They’re decaying in the water opposed to melting.”
These animals, which are also known as true jellyfish, can measure as big as 60cm wide, and they are not as dangerous as other types of jellyfish such as the box jellyfish or deadly Irukandji jellyfish.
Jay March, a lifeguard supervisor at the Surf Life Saving Queensland Cairns, said, “It’s simply not safe to have the beaches open at this point in time, particularly with these sustained conditions, and the sheer number of stingers we’re seeing in the water.”
Jay added, “The beaches will be closed over the coming days and, at this stage, they won’t be reopened until conditions change and take those stingers back out to sea.”
In case you get stung by a jellyfish, you should seek medical help as fast as you can.
For those that are wondering about weeing on it to take the sting away, doctors said there is nothing that suggests this works.