Portuguese warships on Patong Beach in Phuket
No, this has nothing to do with real warships, but Portuguese man-of-war is the name of a rather dangerous tail jellyfish that has recently been seen again on Patong Beach and on the beaches of Surin, Kamala and Nai Thon on Phuket's northwest coast.
Bluebottle
This animal, also known as a bluebottle in English, has the scientific name Physalia physalis and is not a true jellyfish but a complex colony of hundreds of polyps. The name Portuguese man-of-war comes from the explorers of the 16th century, when Portugal was more powerful at sea than England and Spain and the Portuguese man-of-wars frightened everyone, just like this "animal"
Dangerous
The Portuguese man-of-war can sting when touched and its treatment is different from that of a jellyfish. The poison of the polyps is of a different composition, it is not immediately fatal, but it does cause a lot of pain and possibly fever, shock and breathing problems. Still, some people do not survive an encounter with the Portuguese man-of-war due to the danger of getting caught in the water in the tentacles, becoming paralyzed and drowning.
Phuket
Specimens of this species have been found on the beaches of Phuket, washed up by the southwest monsoon. Every year one finds bleubottles there and although people warn about nasty stings, fortunately there have not been any serious cases reported yet. The Phuket Life Guard reported that two tourists had reported being stung last year. They both had breathing difficulties, but they were treated well on the spot and delivered to a hospital before it could take on a serious form.
Video
Below is an Australian video showing the creature. On the video it's just a small one, but I also saw videos (from Florida) with big guys. To stay in naval terms, below a patrol craft, but there are also bleubottles as battleships.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/9LDPHZnP2lc[/youtube]
Source: Phuket News/Wikipedia
About this blogger
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Bert Gringhuis (1945), born and raised in Almelo in the beautiful Twente. Later lived for many years in Amsterdam and Alkmaar, working in export for various companies. I first came to Thailand in 1980 and immediately fell in love with the country. Been back many times since then and moved to Thailand after my (early) retirement as a widower. I have been living there for 22 years now with my somewhat younger Thai lady Poopae.
My first experiences in Thailand as a kind of newsletter sent to family, friends and acquaintances, which later appeared under the name Gringo on Thailandblog. Many, many articles followed those first stories and that has grown into an almost daily hobby.
In the Netherlands still an avid footballer and football referee, but the years are starting to tell and in Thailand still avid, but the pool billiards is really of inferior quality, ha ha!
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Never do what the man does; "the portuguese man of war" ( Phsyllia ) is much more dangerous than the above piece indicates; in addition to an anaphactic shock (an allergic reaction that is usually fatal if you wait just a little too long), you can also get serious heart problems. You have been warned! (incidentally, very good that Thailand blog pays attention to this)
Around this time of the year it becomes too dangerous to go swimming in the sea in Phuket anyway due to the currents of the monsoon.