Jellyfish! These unique creatures are mesmerizing. I have always been fascinated by the way they glide through the water.
This is a blubber jelly that I saw while diving on The Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
The blubber jelly doesn’t have a mouth instead it has tiny openings of each of its eight tentacles. These opening filter and funnel food to the jelly’s stomach The tentacles also have stinging cells that can capture tiny crustaceans, and plankton.
Jellyfish populations are growing at alarming rates. In the past, jellyfish populations were kept in check by predators such as sea turtles, tuna and sunfish.
Currently the populations of these predators are dropping drastically, especially sea turtles, all 7 species of sea turtles are listed on endangered lists. With the decrease in predators the prey (jellyfish) population is booming.
A sting from a blubber jelly is painful but not life threatening. In contrast the box jelly is known as the world’s most venomous animal. Its sting can kill you in just 5 minutes.
Eye of the Wild Photography 