Deadly Sea Creature On Texas Beach Draws Unexpected Compassion [Video]

A video of a deadly sea creature washed up on a beach in Texas has drawn unexpected compassion from social media users.

The clip was shared Wednesday by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The sea creature has been identified as a Portuguese man-o-war, also known as the man-of-war, bluebottle, or blue bottle jellyfish. Beachgoers in the state are familiar with the creature and know not to touch them as they have a painful sting.

On Wednesday, Raymond Cruz witnessed one of these creatures on the Galveston beach at sunrise and recorded it, according to Yahoo News. The video shows the gaseous bubble at the top of the man-o-war’s body rising up before slowly collapsing back down.

“Am I the only one who sees this thing reaching out as if to say, ‘help me!’” one person commented on the department’s post.

“So very sad! It’s reaching out toward the water as the wave approaches,” another wrote.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a brush with a man-o-war’s tendrils can cause severe pain.

“While the man o’ war’s sting is rarely deadly to people, it packs a painful punch and causes welts on exposed skin,” the agency said.

Despite the poisonous nature of the creature, many who saw the man-o-war waving on the beach couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for its plight.

“I somehow feel sorry for this one,” a user commented, while another wrote: “Regardless of the pain it inflicts I hate seeing it suffer."

“I never thought it was possible to feel anthropomorphic compassion for these creatures, but here you go,” another user wrote.

“Omg,” commented a fourth. “Why is this video depressing.”

In May 2020, a TikTok user narrowly escaped death after licking a deadly sea creature he found on a beach. The man, who goes by the title of Alexa_reed2 on TikTok, made a video and shared it with his followers. The man thought the creature was a jellyfish. He revealed he had found the creature after it washed ashore. It was later found the creature was a Portuguese Man O' War. In the clip, the man is seen approaching the sea creature, which looks like a transparent float with long tentacles. Mistaking it for a jellyfish, he picked the creature up and started playing with it. It wasn't clear where the incident took place