Giant jellyfish washes up on beach
A GIANT Lion’s Mane jellyfish has been washed up on a Co Galway beach.
The huge sea creature, which was 5ft in diameter, washed ashore at Traught last week.
It is thought to have been later washed out to sea, still alive, by the rising tide.
Scores of the potentially deadly Lion’s Mane have been seen on beaches in Co Galway and Co Clare in recent weeks.
At least three people have been hospitalised in the two counties by stings from them since the beginning of June.
Galway man Pauric Collins was walking his dog on Traught beach last Thursday when he saw the massive Lion’s Mane.
“There were loads of jellyfish on the beach. I saw a few of the Lion’s Mane and then came across this big one,” he said.
“I took a picture, but the picture meant nothing without something beside it, so that’s when I took Duke [his dog] off the lead and put him beside the jellyfish. Duke is not a small animal, he’s about four-and-a -half stone, and the jellyfish was roughly 5ft in diameter.”
Clare County Council was forced to close White Strand Beach in Milltown Malbay for a time last Friday after a large number of Lion’s Mane were seen there.
Lion’s Mane are the world’s largest jellyfish and can grow to a diameter of 6.5ft with tentacles up to 100ft long. Contact can be dangerous for swimmers, but fatalities are rare.