Warning Alabama: Beaches Full Of Dangerous Portugese Man o’ war Jellyfish

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There is one thing I am terrified of….it’s a deadly jellyfish.

The Portuguese Man o’ War - It has a gas-filled float that keeps it on the water’s surface, and long, stinging tentacles that can grow up to 165 feet. Its tentacles are covered in venom-filled cells that capture prey. Though it can’t swim, it drifts with currents and winds. Its sting is painful, it’s a dangerous predator in the ocean.

Now, I love how most scientists say things “are rarely deadly”.
Oh, ok, that’s much better. This creature only kills a few people every year.
Most of the deadly attacks, according to experts, are caused by a heart attack due to the severe pain from the sting of the Portuguese man of war.
The bigger question is why are these washing up in Orange Beach, Alabama???

In this case, we aren’t talking about a couple of them, we are talking about at least half a dozen that we were able to obtain photos of during a holiday trip to the beach.

By the way, it is very important to note that the tentacles of this beast can still sting for hours and hours after they have washed up on a beach.
The tentacles are still “alive” for up to 24 hours or longer in some cases.
By the way, before someone loses their mind, I know that technically this is not a jellyfish. I watch a lot of episodes of “Planet Earth” on BBC.
It’s technically a siphonophore but who’s keeping track of those details?
It looks like a jellyfish, swims like a jellyfish and ultimately it stings like a jellyfish, so it might as well be a jellyfish!