Kayakers had a close-up encounter with a “jellyfish soup” in one of the most westernly points of Scotland.
Chris Denehy, who runs Clearwater Paddling tour guide company on the Isle of Barra, told how he and his 15-year-old daughter encountered the “exceptional” scenes this week.
He was leading a group exploring cliffs and caves on the west coast of Barra when his daughter Ellie spotted the jellyfish in a rocky gully.
He told STV News: “I joking said it was like ‘kayaking in jelly fish soup gently stirred by a kayak paddle’.
Chris Denehy“Over the last 25 years I have seen large groups of jellyfish over the summer months when we are out kayaking but this was totally exceptional and fascinating to have such a close up encounter, but not perhaps the best place to capsize out of a kayak! They do sting.”
The compass jellyfish can be found in waters including the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, including the North Sea and Mediterranean Sea.
They gain their name from the brown markings around their fringe and on the top of their bell.
The Wildlife Trusts urge anyone who encounters the translucent yellowish-white jellyfish to look but do not touch in order to avoid a painful sting.
More information on identifying the jellyfish can be found here.
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