Couple Take 'Romantic' Beach Pic—Horror As They Fear Danger in Plain Sight
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A woman has shared a shocking story of how she believed she almost killed her husband—by asking him to pose for a romantic photo.
Aslıhan, 52, who gave her first name only, is originally from Turkey but now lives in California with her family, whom she described to Newsweek as loving "snorkeling and exploring marine life."
After the associated restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end, the family decided to celebrate with an unforgettable vacation to Bora Bora, a tranquil island in French Polynesia, famous for its luxury resorts and stunning marine life.
And, one day, walking on the shore, Aslıhan said she "spotted a beautiful shell," which she picked up and placed on her husband's hand for a romantic photo, before returning it to where she found it.
Aslıhan didn't think much of it again—until, years later, her kids saw a video "about deadly sea creatures," and appeared to recognize the shell from their parents' photo. When she later asked ChatGPT to identify the creature in the photo, it determined it "looked like a venomous cone snail."
Cone snails, within the Conidae family, are predatory gastropod mollusks. The venom from just one snail is hypothesized to have the potential to kill up to 700 humans, according to a report published in the National Library of Medicine.
Tourists may inadvertently pick up the creatures, thinking it is a harmless snail or a shell souvenir, and several humans have died from envenomation from the cone snail—with injuries most often occurring on the palms and fingers.
Aslıhan's husband holds the shell she picked up on the beach.
Aslıhan's husband holds the shell she picked up on the beach.
Reddit u/KremKaramela
Aslıhan was horrified, and took to Reddit's r/Wellthatsucks via her account u/KremKaramela on August 5, where she shared the photo and wrote: "I almost killed my husband.
"I found this beautiful shell in Bora Bora and put it on my husband's hand we took a 'romantic' photo only to learn years later that its venom is deadly," she wrote, adding: "It gives me chills every time I think I put my husband's life in danger."
Reddit users had a big reaction, awarding the post more than 53,000 upvotes; however, many commenters rushed to assure Aslıhan that she may not, in fact, have almost killed her husband.
As one commenter put it: "This is a Mitra mitra. Not a cone snail, and not deadly. However, it's still a good reminder to not pick up random sea creatures."
Another agreed: "Pretty sure this is just a mitra mitra shell, very commonly sold and I can't find anything about poison."
Read more
Woman picks up shell—only to learn it's one of the deadliest on Earth
Woman picks up shell—only to learn it's one of the deadliest on Earth
"It's almost definitely mitra mitra as others have pointed out. Absolve your guilt, your husband was safe," a third posted, adding: "It is best to not touch animals in the wild, because you really never know, but also because they deserve to live their lives without being bothered or handled by humans."
And, in positive news, the Marine Biological Association (MBA) confirmed to Newsweek that the creature is indeed an episcopal miter, Mitra mitra.
This species of large sea snail is harmless to humans. However, the MBA recommends that, if a member of the public needs to identify a shell, they should send an image, location and habitat to the Conchological Society email, marine@conchsoc.org.
Aslıhan told Newsweek it was "definitely a relief to hear it might not have been the deadly species, but I'm still upset with myself for possibly putting us at risk."
"We haven't returned to Bora Bora since, but this experience wouldn't stop us from going back," she said.
"That said, I'll never again pick up or handle any unknown marine life—lesson learned!"
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