A family’s trip to a pond in Star turned extraordinary when they discovered rare freshwater jellyfish. Though harmless to humans, these jellyfish sparked curiosity.
STAR, Idaho — A family’s trip to a pond in Star came with an unexpected discovery: freshwater jellyfish.
Marc Brandes and his family were at Freedom Park when they noticed something unusual moving through the water.
“At first I thought it was maybe a feather or something kind of mucousy looking,” Brandes said. “Then I saw that it was moving up and down.”
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Brandes told his daughters to grab a bucket.
“I was like, ‘I think this is a jellyfish,’” he said. “We scooped it up and put it in her little sand bucket, and it was a jellyfish, and then we started seeing more and more and more.”
One jellyfish became two. Then five became 10.
“We started trying to catch as many as we could and put them in the bucket,” Brandes said. “I think we had about 15 or 16 by the time we were done.”
The jellyfish were clear, slimy and about the size of a quarter.
Brandes’ daughters said the creatures felt strange, and they were initially worried the jellyfish might sting them.
“We were kind of scared because we thought that they were going to sting us,” one of the girls said.
Brandes contacted the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to ask whether the jellyfish were dangerous and whether it was safe to swim in the water.
“They said their stingers, or their tentacles, are too small and that the stingers can’t penetrate human skin,” Brandes said. “So I guess they’re essentially harmless.”
Idaho Department of Fish and Game said freshwater jellyfish are rare but have been documented in Idaho for at least 30 years.
Their biologists, who spend a lot of time on the water surveying fish populations and fishing during their free time, rarely, if ever, observe freshwater jellyfish.
“On the rare occasion that they do, they’re generally observed in calm, still waters of lakes, ponds, or reservoirs with little flow,” said Joe Kozfkay, Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife State Fisheries Manager. “Also, we tend to observe them more in warmer, more productive systems. They’re just a curiosity to us rather than something we monitor with a specific intent.”
Kozfkay said they are one of the few exotic species that have been introduced that doesn’t appear to be harmful to native species or important game fish populations.
However, he said it’s still important to remember that introducing species to Idaho’s waterways is illegal and can have disastrous impacts to our cherished waters and natural resources. Please report any suspicious activity regarding release of aquatic species to an Idaho Fish and Game Office.
The nonnative species, known scientifically as Craspedacusta sowerbyi, can remain dormant for years before reaching its adult form.
Scientists do not know exactly how freshwater jellyfish move from one pond to the next, but they have been documented in 45 states and on every continent except Antarctica.
For the Brandes family, the discovery turned an ordinary day at the pond into a story the children are eager to share when they return to school.