Lion's Mane Jellyfish Stings 150 People in Rye New Hampshire

by Amy Judd | July 22, 2010 at 08:48 am

471 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

A Large Dead Lion's Mane Jellyfish Still Managed to Sting About 150 People On a Beach in Rye New Hampshire

The Lion's Mane Jellyfish, thought to be the largest species of jellyfish in the world, was dead in the water on a beach in a state park in Rye, but it broke up in to pieces when staff members tried to remove it from the water.

Even though it was dead, the stingers on its tentacles were still active, as they can be up to three or four days after death, and as a result the stingers were live in the water.

About 150 people were stung, including nine children who had to be treated in hospital, but they are all doing fine.

Doug Grout, chief of marine fisheries for the state of New Hampshire, identified the stinging sea creature as a Lion's Mane jellyfish and said it weighed more than 40 pounds. The species is rarely seen so far south and in such shallow waters, he said.

Their tentacles can be as long as 150 feet.