WATCH: Zululand’s jellyfish visitors explained

Numerous coastal KZN towns have recently reported an influx of jellyfish in their waters, and Richards Bay is no different with beach-goers spotting some of these creatures at the Small Craft Harbour last weekend.

To answer the many questions about these rare seasonal visitors to our shores, the SA Association of Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) based at uShaka Sea World in Durban provided an explanation.

“These jellyfish proliferations or blooms are not uncommon, and generally occur in the warmer months of the year. The most common cause of jellyfish blooms in KZN is thought to be as a result of temperature variations and ocean and wind patterns,” said the association.

“The jellyfish we are seeing in large numbers are blue blubber jellyfish of the phylum Cnidaria. These beautiful bell-shaped jellyfish get their name from their distinct colouring (usually blue), which is produced by the jellyfish itself, and is not a symbiotic algae.

“Jellyfish ‘swim’ by contracting and relaxing their muscles at the margin of their bells. By contracting these muscles, they tighten the bottom of the bell, which forces water out and propels them forward.

“Since their mouths are so small (yes, jellyfish have mouths!), at uShaka Sea World we feed our jellyfish a combination of two-day-old artemia and rotifers (crustaceans).”

@zululand_observer

This unusual visitor to Richards Bay was recently caught on camera frolicking in the water at Tuzi Gazi Waterfront

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