A PORTUGUESE Man O’War was recently discovered on Salthouse beach, Widemouth, by a passer by, who has taken to Facebook to warn locals of these fascinating but dangerous creatures.

The marine animal was found washed up on the morning of Sunday, October 2 by local lady, Catherine Appleton.

Following reports of these animals being washed up all over the UK, Catherine took to Facebook and posted in the Crackington Crew’s page a warning to fellow locals, following her discovery.

She wrote: “Just be aware, I came across a Portuguese Man O’War this morning on Salthouse beach, Widemouth — they stay toxic for a long time after being stranded.”

She added: “So if they’re turning up in Widemouth area I guess there’s a good chance they might arrive at Crackington as well.”

After doing some research on the social media site as to what the colourful, jellyfish-like stranded animal was, she discovered that it was a Portuguese Man O’War and reported it to a Facebook page dedicated to the animals’ sightings, the Big Jellyfish Hunt. In response, they advised that there is little action that can be taken, but that people should not pick them up upon seeing one.

The Post was contacted by the head of the Marine Conservation Society’s biodiversity programme, Dr Peter Richardson, who shed some light on what these mysterious creatures are that continue to wash up on Cornwall’s beaches.

He said that there have been 56 reports of sightings since September 10 in regions including Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Wales and Ireland. However, Catherine’s discovery is possibly the first recorded sighting in Bude.

A Portuguese Man O’War, scientifically known as the Physalia physalis, is not a jellyfish, but a floating colony of hydrozoans, made up of lots of tiny organisms living together and behaving as one animal. Their sting in their tentacle-like polyps gives an extremely painful, and in some cases lethal, sting.

Although no one has died from the sting in this country, it has been known to kill people in other parts of the world, and is classed as extremely dangerous to humans.

Dr Richardson said: “They do turn up now and again — and it looks like it’s a three-year cycle, from recordings over the years. They can turn up in big numbers; this year has had a considerably high number of Portuguese Man O’Wars washing up on beaches around the UK; especially Ireland, who have had a recording of 700 sightings this year. The last lot of big sightings was in 2012.

“They are not supposed to be in our waters, but they do get blown in and then they get washed up on the beaches, such as this one that has been washed up at Widemouth.

“They’re very pretty things, but people must resist the temptation to pick them up — that must be avoided. So, don’t touch them, report the sighting to the Marine Conservation Society, and people really shouldn’t panic. They tend to turn up in small densities; as I said before, this is the first year that they have been turning up in big numbers since 2012. It’s all about using your common sense and to not touch them.”

The Marine Conservation Society features a live map on their website, allowing visitors to the site to look at what has been reported and the concentration of jellyfish and related animals in the South West, including Portuguese Man O’War.

Dr Richardson assured that it is common to see Portuguese Man O’War, adding: “It is low season for jellyfish now; the peak for the arrival of these animals is August time, so this year they are a bit late, but it is normal for a Portuguese Man O’War invasion, if you like.”

To find out more information about these animals, or to report a sighting, visit the Marine Conservation Society’s website on www.mcsuk.org, where details about Portuguese Man O’War, as well as a jellyfish guide and advice on how to report a sighting can be found.