Latest news with #AustralianMarineStingerAdvisoryServices
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bucket of water highlights deadly beach threat facing 'complacent' Aussies
"Complacent" Australians and tourists are being urged not to risk their lives as they enter Queensland's waters during the Easter holidays. Lifeguards in Far North Queensland say deadly box jellyfish are now fully grown at this time of year and entering the water outside of the nets could cost you your life. "We are coming up to the time of year where lifeguards unfortunately start to see people becoming complacent and swim outside the netted areas," Far North Queensland Lifesavers explained. "On a calm day box jellyfish can be found right along the water's edge, feeding on shrimp and bait fish. Do not risk your life." Far North Queensland Lifeguards shared video of a sample of ocean water filled with juvenile shrimp and krill, showing just how favourable the conditions are for box jellyfish. Director of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Services and jellyfish expert, Dr Lisa-ann Gershwin, told Yahoo News last week box jellyfish have "absolutely earned" the title of the world's most venomous animal. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Australian Lifeguard Service - North Queensland (@fnqlifeguards) Box jellyfish are found in tropical coastal waters and reside around the country's northern coastline, from Western Australia along to Queensland. In Queensland they are active until late May when the waters cool, prompting lifeguards to remind beachgoers of the deadly threat. While James Cook University Professor Jamie Seymour told the ABC numbers had rapidly declined in the north of the state around Cairns, believed to be a result of 2023's Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, box jellyfish are still being caught further south. In January, lifesavers at Eimeo Beach at Mackay caught eight box jellyfish during one routine check. Their venomous stings have caused at least 70 known deaths in Aussie waters since records began in the 1880s, according to Australian Geographic. Far North Queensland Lifeguards said two young people had died in recent years in the state due to box jellyfish stings. Box jellyfish have about 60 venomous tentacles which can measure up to three metres in length. Gershwin says people who are stung can often get tangled in the tentacles. Aussie woman ends up in hospital after battle with very rare fish Incredibly rare 'sharktopus' sighting off New Zealand coast Mysterious foam at Aussie beach sickens surfers as wildlife wash up Stings feel like an electrocution or like hot oil being poured onto the skin with vinegar a vital way to combat impacted areas on the body. "Vinegar neutralises the stinging cells from injecting more venom into your skin, and you want to stop every single one of them possible," Gershwin explained. "If you're over the lethal sting threshold, it isn't going to do anything. But the thing is, you're not going to know in the moment, so you need to flood the area with vinegar and seek medical assistance as quickly as possible." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Aussies warned after tourist's lucky escape from 'world's most venomous animal'
A tourist is lucky to be alive after accidentally sitting on the "world's most venomous animal" – with the incident now being held up as a reminder to Aussies that the dangerous creature resides along thousands of kilometres of our coastline. Irish couple Julie and Daniel were swimming during a three-day excursion along remote islands in the Philippines when Julie made contact with a box jellyfish. She said the translucent stinger was the "length of a man", and her entire body quickly started "vibrating" from excruciating pain. "I squatted down, and I didn't feel anything... when I stood up, I felt burning on my thighs and on my butt... it felt like a flat iron pressed against me," she said. Despite being two hours away from the nearest hospital, Julie survived the incident — with only a gnarly scar to remind her of the of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Services and jellyfish expert, Dr Lisa-ann Gershwin, told Yahoo News the tourist was "lucky to be alive". "It can take as little as three metres worth of stings on the body to kill a healthy adult, and it happens in less than two minutes. For children, it's only 1.2 metres," Gershwin told Yahoo. "Not everybody who is stung by a box jellyfish will die... but if you've been stung more than that lethal threshold, then, yeah, statistically you are probably going to die. It's really quite mathematical." Fortunately for Julie it appears not enough of the stings came in contact with her body for the encounter to be fatal. There are a number of box jellyfish species residing between Australia and Asia but all are "very, very venomous". The Australian species is dubbed the "two-step jellyfish" by scientists in the US as "two steps is all you get" when you're stung, Gershwin explained. "When someone gets stung, it feels like an electrocution or like hot oil spattering on your skin. It's really painful, and it's completely normal to have a jerk reaction," she said. "But this spooks the animal and as it tries to get away, the tentacles often get tangled around the swimmers body. Now we're in contact with 60 fully lethal tentacles, each one is up to three metres long on a mature animal." Being in contact with just one of the jellyfish's 60 tentacles is enough to push a swimmer over the lethal sting threshold and cause a catastrophic outcome. "They absolutely have earned the title of the world's most venomous animals," she said. Box jellyfish are found in tropical coastal waters and reside around the country's northern coastline, from Western Australia along to Queensland. In Queensland they are active until late May when the waters cool. Their venomous stings have caused at least 70 known deaths in Aussie waters since records began in the 1880s, according to the Australian Geographic. 🕷️ Park ranger stumbles upon 'really exciting' new spider species 🐍 Aussie traps one of the world's deadliest snakes in tight spot 🏖️Woman pictured 'playing with death' on beach holiday The most crucial thing to do if stung by a box jellyfish is to flood the affected area with vinegar — and do it immediately. "Vinegar neutralises the stinging cells from injecting more venom into your skin, and you want to stop every single one of them possible," she said. "If you're over the lethal sting threshold, it isn't going to do anything. But the thing is, you're not going to know in the moment, so you need to flood the area with vinegar and seek medical assistance as quickly as possible." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
