Health & Fitness
Painful Jellyfish Seen At Popular MA Beach: DCR
If you see purple flags at the beach, it's because the dangerous lion's mane jellyfish has been seen.
NAHANT, MA — If you're headed to an ocean beach this weekend, keep your eye out for purple flags.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation has issued a warning for beaches in Nahant because lion's mane jellyfish have been spotted. DCR puts purple flags up at beaches when there's been a sighting of a dangerous marine animal.
The jellyfish's tentacles cause you to feel a burning, stinging sensation if you touch it. And it's pretty easy to come in contact with one. The lion's mane is the largest known type of jellyfish, with tentacles that can reach as long as 100 feet.
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Famously, a single lion's mane jellyfish the size of a turkey platter stung about 150 people at the Wallis Sands State Beach in New Hampshire in 2010. The mass-stinging happened when parks employees tried to break up the jellyfish's body, causing pieces of it to invade the beach, sending some people to a local hospital.
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