Who doesn’t know kids are always happy to touch all kinds of slimy, yucky things. It doesn’t matter how disgusting they are, children would gladly poke anything that moves to see what happens. Sometimes even adults do it because it’s human nature!
But when these parents saw their two kids get close to a strange creature, they had to stop them! However, they did poke it with a stick and took some photos. That’s how their story became viral!
An Incredible Discovery
You never know what could happen if you come to close to wild animals. Even though some may look inoffensive, they can cause a lot of damage!
This creature was nothing like this family has ever seen and their story even made it on the news. Experts joined hands and helped this family discover the origin of this being…
A Young Adventurous Family
Adam and Eve are the young parents of Lucas, who is four years old and Sofia, a cute two years old toddler. As they were out for some adventures, the came across a strange creature.
The family decided to go for a walk on the Pakiri beach, which is 42 miles north of Auckland. They have never thought a walk on the beach would soon turn into an adventure, which is exactly what they have been looking for!
Fun, But also Responsible Parents
Adam and Eve Dickinson are awesome parents. They like to have fun with their kids and sometimes they even act as kids too. But they’re very responsible when it comes to Lucas and Sofia’s safety.
This is why when Lucas told his father that there was something moving in the sand, Adam’s first instinct kicked in. He told the kids to not touch it, as it may be dangerous.
Discovering New Things
The Dickinson family was out on the beach to have a great time and discover new things. They decided to visit the Pakiri Beach. This area was named after the native Māori chief of the Ngāti Wai tribe, Te Kiri.
The nine-mile beach is going to become a regional park, so Adam and Eve wanted to go for a stroll . It was already September and they wanted to enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. Little did they know that they will indeed make a great discovery!
A Beautiful Sight
Aside from the beautiful sight, you get to witness on the beach, you come across seashells or jellyfish and if you get close to the water you may also see some tiny fish or crabs!
But the creature this family saw was nothing like they have ever seen before! The kids asked their father to let them pose next to it. Here are the viral photos of the two kids next to that strange being.
An Unfamiliar Creature
Neither of the two New Zealand parents knew that they would come across a very strange creature. It was captivating to look at it, but they had to make sure not to touch it.
It looked like it came from space, but the Dickinsons knew it was impossible. So they began theorizing. Lucas said it was a volcano. It surely did look like one, but it wasn’t! Adam took his phone and started taking some photos…
Jelly!
If a kid sees a jelly on the sand, they’d think it really is jelly! However, this was not the sweet blob you get to eat from the plate. But Lucas has seen small jellyfish in the sand and knew he wasn’t supposed to touch them.
“My initial thought was ‘don’t let my kids touch it’ as they went running up to have a look,” recounted Adam. He snapped a few more photos right in time before it changed its shape!
The Volcano
As Adam and the kids stood around the creature, it became clear what it could have been. Lucas’ volcano theory wasn’t exactly on point here.
However, while Adam knew it was some kind of jellyfish, it’s huge size and coloring was like nothing he had seen before! And it did look like a volcano from a certain angle…
Cool Things
"We go to the beach to see cool things like that," said Adam in an interview with the media after his story got viral online. Fox News interviewed the family and learned more about that moment.
The alien-like blob was captivating and the family wondered what it could be. Then, Adam heard Lucas telling him to find a stick and poke it with it!
Why Not?
Of course, as we said earlier, the Dickinsons are awesome and Adam went to find a stick while Eve watched the kids. It was time to solve the mystery of the strange blob.
Finding this curious creature was exciting for all of them, so Adam quickly found a stick and came back to see what happens if you poke the jelly…
Investigating the Pink Jelly
As they have walked on the beach before passing by this jelly, the family discovered plenty other small jelly.
“We had been out walking and there was up to 100 jellyfish along the estuary and beach. At the end, after about an hour, we came across this one,” recalled Adam.
They Blew on the Blob
Lucas and Sofia blew on the blob and saw that it moved! This creepy thing was still alive and moving!
“The kids then started blowing on it. ‘It can feel us mummy,’ [Lucas] said as it moved again,” Eve recalled in an interview with Yahoo7. Then, Adam decides to help with the investigation…
It Was Impressive
“Our initial reaction was impressed, because it's an amazing looking thing,” said Adam. Adam didn’t want to risk touching the blob.
After all, it was purple and looked like a jelly, so it could have been poisonous. So he began prodding it with a stick to see what happens…
It Started Moving!
"It almost looked alien-like and was slowly moving or contracting,” recalled Adam. The purple blob was moving and the kids were so taken aback that it was too cute not to watch their reaction.
Adam and Eve were also impressed to see that blob that “looked like a load of muscles contracting. It was pretty incredible and really hard to describe.” Then, Adam learns how rare this creature really was…
He Flipped the Creature
Using the stick, Adam flipped the blob upside down and realized that it was indeed a huge jellyfish that got washed up on the shore.
"I picked up a few of the others, the little ones with not many tentacles - I was just showing the kids you don't touch the underneath of the jellyfish - but I didn't want to touch the outside of that one," said Adam. Here’s why he was reluctant to touch it and his instinct was right!
Tough Beasts
"They pack a hell of a punch, I have been told,” said Adam in the interview. He didn’t know what kind of jellyfish this creature was. "I have been here nine years and had seen nothing like that," he said.
However, when he did some research on this jellyfish, he leaned that it was a rare creature! It was a lion’s mane jellyfish!
The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish
Marine experts know a lot of things about rare creatures. Diana Macpherson is a member of New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and she had a few information to share with the Dickinsons.
First, this was the largest species of jellyfish that lives in New Zealand waters! They can grow as big as seven feet wide!
They Have Very Long Tentacles
The lion’s mane jellyfish has tentacles that can grow as long as one hundred feet! But what really made the jellyfish found on the shore so special was that it shouldn’t have been around during that period.
You see, they are common in New Zealand during warm months, but not in September! “They’re usually around during the spring and summer because the plankton starts to bloom, so as a result they come around too,” Macpherson explained.
Incredible
Adam recalled that this discovery was incredible. He learned that while the lion’s mane jellyfish was not poisonous, it could cause some minor welts if you get stung.
“They have a toxin in their tentacles which can hurt you if you get too close to them,” added Macpherson. It is best to treat them with caution even though they are not deadly.