People taking winter walks on Welsh beaches are encouraged to keep an eye out for beautiful sea creatures with venomous stingers. Several Portuguese military personnel have been found stranded on a beach along the Gwynedd coast and vets are warning dog owners to be extremely vigilant.

These sea creatures, which look a bit like jellyfish, are normally found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but experts say climate change is causing them to end up more often on the Welsh coast. Although the impressive creatures look very beautiful, with vibrant shades of blue, purple and pink, people are advised to keep their children and pets away as the Portuguese man-of-war is poisonous and its bite can be extremely painful.

Furthermore, there were cases where the sting of the Portuguese warship was powerful enough to kill a fish as well as several people. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.

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According to NorthWalesLive, the Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, a colony of small zooids that work together as a single animal. Inislas, Tywin, Fairborne, Barmouth and Porthmadow beaches were observed over the weekend. More reports from the Llŷn Peninsula in Pulheil, Aberdaron and Port Neigwill (Hellmouth).

Pullheli resident Peter Sinclair Gill, who has enjoyed walks along the town’s South Beach for a decade, said this year’s landing was “by far the worst”. “I usually see one or two, but this year there were more than a dozen,” he said. “This morning (Monday, November 13) I noticed a few more people blowing on the dunes.”

Further reports sparked a warning from Gwynedd-based Williams Veterinary Surgeons, who urged dog walkers to take extra care on local beaches. Posting a photograph taken by a local resident of a Portuguese soldier on a local beach, staff at the practice said: “Be careful with dogs on the beach today in Tywin and I have just seen the posts.” [of Portuguese man o’ war] Also in Barmouth.

Anglesey Marine Zoo director Frankie Hobrough was stung by a Portuguese warship… and I definitely wouldn’t recommend that!

“Although they cannot be considered fatal to humans, their bites are unbearably painful,” he said. “It’s something I personally identify with because I was stung in the leg while working in the tropics, where encounters with these creatures are common. The pain may take several hours to go away. The tentacles leave whip-shaped reddish-purple scars. on the skin, which can be visible and sensitive for many days. Sometimes the venom can cause severe reactions that lead to serious medical complications. In some very serious cases it can cause death, although this is extremely rare.”

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Being warm-water creatures, Portuguese warships are rarely seen off the coast of the United Kingdom, but are sometimes blown here by westerly winds. To swim in the oceans they use a buoy filled with carbon monoxide and air. They drag tentacles 65 to 70 feet behind them to catch fish. Frankie predicts there will be more of them arriving on Welsh shores in the coming years as the sea warms. “This year, the Sea Zoo measured the seawater at a temperature of 21°C,” he said. “This is an extremely high temperature. Four or five years ago, the maximum temperature was 18 to 19 degrees Celsius. At the beginning of this summer, we had warm seas over the western Atlantic, and only now have the seas started to cool down on an annual basis.

“Exotic species such as the Portuguese man-of-war tend to arrive at the end of the year and warmer waters will probably bring more specimens. Additionally, fall storms from the west seem to arrive earlier in the season and more frequently. “They disturb the sea, they disturb the currents and can cause more emissions.”

“If you find one you should report it to your local Wildlife Trust and Marine Conservation Society as they keep records,” he added. “If you are concerned that it may be a hazard, or if there is a large quantity, you should report the discovery to your local council who will arrange for it to be disposed of appropriately. But please don’t try to move them yourself.”