Big Box Jellyfish Blog Southeast Asia

  With plenty of talk about box jellyfish, whether they exist or not, at the popular beaches of Phuket in Thailand, here's a little reminder.  One way or another, they do. The Andaman Sea with its environment affected by monsoon-driven seasonal currents, massive internal waves and tidal influences, can get rough. Box jellyfish are fragile and seek shelter to breed, mainly in coastal mangrove areas, meaning they tend to proliferate in more protected habitats, and as the seasons dictate. The western and southern coasts of Phuket between May and October are out of bounds for box jellyfish. However, calmer waters mean more opportunity to feed and breed though empirical evidence suggests they much prefer the refuge of the east coast. Serious stings have occurred on the seaward west coasts of both Phuket and Koh Lanta. Keep in mind that there are two types or orders of box jellyfish, scientifically known as Cubozoans. The multi-tentacled  Chirodropida  - specifically the...