SocialMedia Blog #1 Jellyfish

The jellyfish I found

Animals: we’ve all heard of them, and most of us have even seen them. I personally have seen a veritable cornucopourri of critters, varmints and the like. Once, I was on a beach in Maine and I found an entire jellyfish washed up on the shore. See, the thing about jellyfish is that they don’t have much going for them by way of bodily autonomy, so telling a live jellyfish apart from a dead one is pretty tough, and nigh impossible when it’s beached. An unfortunate coincidence is that most jellyfish can sting even after death, as their nematocysts can fire off on contact. This makes helping a potentially live jellyfish risky and doubly unrewarding. So instead of risking needing to be peed on, we elected to poke it with a stick for a while before moving on.

Despite their simple forms, I think jellyfish are up there among the most visually appealing animals, drifting aimlessly like a wisp of smoke or a colorful cloud. Almost like the roses of the sea, dangerous to hold but wonderful to behold. If you get the chance to go to an aquarium sometime, I wouldn’t blame you for spending a good couple hours transfixed at the many jellies they care for: they really work the lighting in those places.

Another interesting thing about jellyfish is that many are effectively immortal: As this article https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/the-immortal-jellyfish by the Natural History Museum explains, some species of jellyfish can revert to a previous stage in their lifecycle when damaged, effectively Benjamin-Buttoning any damage away. This does beg the question: how long could a jellyfish be kept in captivity? One would think a floating sac of poison that eats whatever it can get would be easy to care for; I mean, I take care of myself just fine, so why not one of these? Jellyfish have been proven to be one of the oldest living species on Earth, and it’s easy to see why: being a floating stomach of venomous garbage that only like 3 things can eat comes with its perks. Overall, I think jellyfish is very cool animal. If you ever see one though, don’t eat it. Appreciate it from a distance. See you next week for facts about animals I’ve seen!!

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