Having a beach day is necessary for people who live near the coast! One family from Arizona took a trip out to Texas in order to relax on one of their favorite beaches. They weren't expecting to come face to face with danger...
Mysterious Creature
When a mysterious creature washes up on a desolate beach, what do you do? Call the police? Animal control? It's nothing like you've ever seen, and it looks dangerous...
Family Beach Day
Going to the beach is always a good time. For families with children, the beach is usually a great place to keep the little ones occupied. Kids need to run around to get their energy out, and this particular Texas beach seemed perfect for this small family of four...
Family Day
Parents Leah and Trey needed to get their kids out of the house. Having 7-year-old and 5-year-old boys cooped up all day was wearing on their psyche, and they knew it was time to get out and explore. Padre Island National Seashore is far from their home in Arizona, but they were up for the adventure. Plus, they knew it was desolate enough that they could have fun and safe family time.
Combing the Shoreline
Even at a beach in Texas, early May can be pretty chilly! The family was more interested in exploring the beach than sitting and catching some rays. The boys loved looking for shells and building sandcastles along the shoreline. When they happened across an interesting shell or a crab of some variety, they got so excited. Beach discoveries were always fun...
A Special Place
The parents used to frequent the state beach in their college years. To them, it was just a normal beach. They would find seashells, make sandcastles, dig big holes... All of the usual stuff! They never experienced anything weird at the beach until this one particular day with their children...
Starting the Day
The young family started their day early. No one was at the beach, which was already a good sign. The kids immediately took off towards the water, sand buckets in hand. They were ready to find some ocean treasures!
Too Far Behind
All parents know: kids are fast. When the boys took off running, Leah and Trey had to hurry to unload the car. Luckily, the boys were still in eyesight, but they weren't the ones to keep an eye on...
Combing the Shoreline
The boys wanted to find one thing in particular: a jellyfish. Their parents told them that it was pretty rare to find a jellyfish in early May, but they didn't care—they were going to look all day if they had to. They knew that they could be dangerous, so they knew not to touch them, but the boys weren't prepared for what they actually found...
I Found Something!
Before they could even unload the car, the boys were shouting about finding something. They knew not to touch it, but it was still so tempting. Both parents went running down to the water to see what the kids were yelling about. They were literally seconds away from absolute disaster.
What Are They?
Leah saw the blue creature and slapped her kids' hands away from touching it. They didn't know what it was, which is a great reason to not touch it. They were baffled at what the little creature was. It looked straight out of a movie!
Don't Touch!
“[My son] really wanted to touch it, I don’t blame him, I did too, as they look very soft and squishy. But we discussed that since we have no clue what they are we better not. After thinking about it he even said ‘he might be like the poison dart frog mom, he is kind of brightly colored, which is a warning.' Smart kid," Leah told a local news station.
Investigating
But this was what they wanted, right? An adventure? Despite the red flags that this creature was dangerous, they wanted to explore some more. After all, this was something they'd never seen before and Leah and Troy had been going to that beach for 30 years! So they kept on walking, looking for more of these strange creatures...
There Were Even More!
As they kept walking, their five-year-old son ended up finding a group of three more of the bizarre creatures! They weren't sure if they should be concerned or not, so Leah took out her phone for a quick Google search. Hopefully, that would help them figure out what they accidentally stumbled upon...
Blue Dragons?
Leah quickly looked through her search results and was convinced that her family had found the rare Blue Dragon... Rare and venomous, that is. Even a light touch of their skin would warrant an emergency hospital trip!
Good Timing
“We then went on to find four more throughout the afternoon. One washed up right next to my foot at some point, luckily I saw him and didn’t step on it,” Leah said. They were lucky that the events went down as they did... If she had accidentally stepped on that little guy, or one of her kids touched it, they might have met their maker...
They Can Be Deadly
After some more searching, Leah found out that they can be deadly. They're technically a sea slug, but many people compare them to deadly jellyfish. Their venom is enough to paralyze a person, and even kill them. Naturally, the parents were alarmed. If a young child touches one, it could be a death sentence. So, they decided to call up the park ranger to let them know about their findings.
Life-Saving Decision
Turns out, the Blue Dragons that the family found were just the first few to wash up. Over the next few days, more and more were found on the shoreline and more families were finding them. Luckily, the warning put out by the park ranger helped warn them all of how dangerous these beautiful little slugs can be.
Warning, Danger!
On May 6, the beach Facebook page issued a stern warning about the rare slugs. "A blue dragon, a type of nudibranch or sea slug, was found in the park this weekend. Blue dragons are very small, generally only 3 cm, but don't let their size fool you, they have a defense worthy of the name dragon... if you see a dragon in the park, be amazed as they are a rare find, but also keep your distance!"
They Were Popping Up All Over!
More and more beachgoers were posting their findings... Apparently, a bunch of them began to wash up soon after the warning was put out. This was an especially good thing because these little slugs can be tiny. This one was smaller than your average seashell!
Rare Finds
“A lot of people are finding them lately. That will often happen with animals that a bunch will wash up at the same time,” said a spokesperson for PINS. Leah and Trey said that they'd never seen anything like it! “We spent three years camping out there, usually once a month or more, in college and neither one of us had ever seen one of these little guys," Trey recalled.
This Isn't The First Time
Back in 2015, a beach in Australia faced the same issue. Apparently, a Blue Dragon was hunting another deadly sea creature, the blue bottle jellyfish. The harsh Aussie currents were no match for the tiny slug, and they eventually washed up, causing mass confusion among beachgoers.
Fairytale Creatures
These little slugs look completely fake as if they were created using CGI for a hit movie. They're plenty real! When they are found outside of their normal habitat, it usually causes a bit of a mass panic... After all, you don't want this brushing against your leg in the ocean! Especially if they are hunting.
Natural Habitat
The Blue Dragon is usually native to the tropical waters of Hawaii, Bermuda, and Africa. Sometimes, they end up in the Caribbean. So, when they found their way to the coasts of the United States and Australia, people were mesmerized!
Deadly Predator
It doesn't look like it, but these tiny slugs are actually intense predators. They mainly feed on blue bottle jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war's (above), and each other. Of course, Blue Dragon's are also cannibals.
Masters of Disguise
Since the other sea creatures that they choose to prey on are also dangerous and deadly, they have to become masters of disguise. That also means that they disguise themselves to humans, which could be very dangerous. It's totally possible to not even realize the danger that's lurking!
They Float Belly Up
The slugs are pelagic, which means they float belly up. The blue on their underbelly helps camouflage them with the blue color of the ocean. They stay afloat by swallowing air and holding it in their stomachs.
Why Are They So Poisonous?
The Blue Dragon stores up the concentrated nematocysts, also known as stinging cells, from the poisonous prey that they eat. That will inflict a horrible sting when threatened or touched... Get the slug upset enough, and its sting could kill you.
They're Tiny
The slug is so dangerous because it's so small! The largest recorded Blue Dragon was a whopping inch and a half. They're usually between one and a half to three centimeters long.
Reproduction
The Blue Dragon doesn't usually need a partner to reproduce... They can do it all on their own. If they do mate with a partner, they go to lay eggs on floating pieces of wood or plastic. Then, the little eggs hatch and release hundreds of poisonous slugs into the ocean!
Never Touch Them!
There are some photos of people holding them, which indicates that they weren't being hurt... The venom won't always attack instantly. In fact, it's common for it to leave a horrific rash on the skin. The people who took photos holding them probably had a lengthy hospital bill.
Mysterious Creatures
Other than that, these creatures are very mysterious. Very little is known about them other than the few stated facts. It's difficult to study a Blue Dragon due to the rarity that they are... Even coming across one likely won't happen in your lifetime!
They Contribute to the Ecosystem
You might think that these little slugs are probably just interesting to look at, but that's not the case! In fact, if it weren't for them, there would be an overpopulation of the extremely deadly man-of-war jellyfish. They would overwhelm the small fish that they prey on, which would easily cause a huge rift in the ocean's food chain. Plus, more of them would end up on beaches, which would be bad for humans.
Thank the Lane's!
Thanks to the Lane's, visitors of the beach will be able to keep an eye out for the beautiful creatures. Thankfully, the swimming season is still a while away, so they won't have to worry about getting a nasty sting!