• Question: can jellyfish kill you? if so what type?

    Asked by katelyn to Sebastian on 14 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Sebastian Gornik

      Sebastian Gornik answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      Yes they can! But fortunately none of the fatal jellyfish occur in Irish waters.

      But in Australia for example they have box jellyfish which can be fatal!

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish

      The jellyfish have cells that inject a toxin in their prey. This also happens to humans (accidentally) and the toxin kills them. Of course humans are too big to be prey for jellyfish, but the toxin still affects them negatively.

      Luckily, the animals I work with can not sting humans as their stinging cells are to weak to sting through human skin!

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