While filming their online series Wild Ocean Week, biologist Lizzie Daly and underwater cinematographer Dan Abbott spotted a human-sized barrel jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo) off the coast of Cornwall, near Falmouth, England in July of 2019. Of the 25 minute encounter, she told The Guardian:
“I’ve never seen one that big. We had seen a few smaller jellyfish at a beautiful reef nearby, and then out of the murk came this huge, beautiful jellyfish. You just take a double look and ask yourself if it’s actually a metre and a half long.
She shared photos and a video of the encounter with the majestic creature, which poses no threat to humans and can be found “in the northeast Atlantic, and in the Adriatic, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov.” Understandably, the footage went viral.
Wild Ocean Week is “a fundraising campaign for the Marine Conservation Society of the United Kingdom created by Daly, that was meant to document various marine species off the coast.” One more look from The Washington Post.
Watch more videos of sea jellies on TKSST, including Jellyfish Lake, hungry moon jellies, and How Do Jellyfish Sting?
Bonus: When Your Job Is Saving The Ocean and Swim With Manta Rays, the Ocean’s Peaceful Giants.
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