Killer Beaches: Jellyfish Panic Continues Worldwide!

August 4, 2008 at 1:50 PM | by egw | Comments (2)

Our fear of killer jellyfish has not abated since last week! The New York Times even got in on the trend with a Spanish scientist suggesting jellies are trying to send us the message "Look how badly you are treating me," making them sound like a M. Night Shyamalan menace.

After the jump, this week's updates on the insidious spread of what David Beard of the Boston Globe called "the cockroach of the ocean."

Honolulu, Hawaii: A pair of Waikiki surfers were suspended for removing jellyfish warning signs from the stretch of beach where they were giving surf lessons. As the wave of over 2,000 box jellyfish approached, they disobeyed lifeguard directions to leave the signs alone and have been banned from teaching on the beach for the remainder of the summer. Bogus!

St. Julian's, Malta: Proving that jellyfish know not fame nor catchy pop writing, Duran Duran bassist John Taylor was stung by a jellyfish off the coast of this island south of Sicily, which luckily only "slightly marred" a group outing after their Red Carpet Massacre European Tour.

Other places hard hit this week: Long Beach, New York, Malaga, Spain and Batu Ferringhi Beach, Malaysia, where one lucky tourist discovered that Coca-Cola can relieve a jellyfish's sting. If there's no Coke around, the "Friends" episode "The One with the Jellyfish" reminds us that you can always pee on the wound: Your choice!

On the other hand, in Lebanon, sea turtles and overfishing have collaborated to deplete the eastern Mediterranean's population of jellyfish. Now we know where to send them!

Our Jellyfish Invasion Map helps you track this summer's trendiest menace!

[Photo: mcduff]

Comments (2)

Return to » Killer Beaches: Jellyfish Panic Continues Worldwide!

While we have box jellyfish 9-10 days following full moon, there has been no apparent increase in jellyfish in Hawaii. I've included a link to the Hawaii jellyfish schedule: http://beatofhawaii.com/jellyfish-invasion-hits-europe-but-hawaii-still-safe/.

I've been to St. Julian's, Malta and saw only over-cooked old British people. Totally had a friend get stung by a jellyfish years ago while we were swimming off the Italian island of Ventotene. But he wasn't in Duran Duran so we ignored it.

Jaunted

Select a Destination:

Jellyfish-Invasion-Map / Jellyfish / Killer Beaches / Dangerous Travel / Animals / When Animals Attack / → All Tags