Tuesday, July 24, 2012



Over by San Diego Bay this morning I was standing on the deck at Jimmy’s Restaurant (known as JFAT... because of the “famous” classic cheeseburger, which I had today for lunch) waiting for my friend Joe when I got a great surprise.  As I chained my bicycle to a fence at the edge of the water, I was stunned to see a big jelly fish, very much alive and active, gliding slowly a few feet away from me, seeming to be checking out the big rocks.  I’d never seen a jelly fish quite as big as this one, and I hadn’t seen one that wasn’t the usual light, almost white in color.   This one was dark, with a burgundy tail.  The bell was ringed with distinctive ruffles.  When I got back home, Google helped me determine that it is definitely a giant black jellyfish. I was directed to Mike Lee’s piece in this morning’s Union-Tribune.
I had an early generation digital camera in my bike bag, so I got a picture.  I didn't have a polarizing filter, and the jelly wasn’t on the surface, so the image is not very clear; but it’s definitely a rare black jellyfish.  Wow!  Seeing it was like winning the lottery.

1 comment:

Rajesh said...

this thing looks quite dangerous :-) wish you had a better shot.