Blue bottle, identified additionally because the Portuguese man o’ warfare, are a colony of extremely specialised hydrozoans residing in unison. Resembling a jellyfish, blue bottoms have a clear balloon-like creatures with lengthy thread-like zooids. Normally as much as 3 m lengthy, these tentacles are lined in tiny capsules of venom cells which are used for catching prey.

Blue bottles are venomous creatures and whereas their sting is extraordinarily painful, they aren’t deadly. Environmentalists instructed The Indian Categorical that these creatures shouldn’t have mouths and don’t chunk folks.

Shaunak Modi, director of the Coastal Conservation Basis, stated, “The blue bottles’ tentacles are lined in venom cells which, if stepped on, will trigger extreme ache. It should be famous, nonetheless, that they aren’t in any respect venomous in nature and can’t trigger any fatalities. Nonetheless, their sting might be extraordinarily painful. Since folks often stroll barefoot on the seashores, they unintentionally step on the blue bottles, which then causes extreme ache.”

Is that this the primary time that blue bottoms have appeared alongside Mumbai’s shoreline?

In response to marine consultants, colonies of blue buttons flood Mumbai’s shores each monsoon season. “These animals stay within the open sea. Nonetheless, they typically flood the high-tide shoreline, not solely in Mumbai however all through the west coast, through the monsoon season owing to robust seasonal winds and water currents. Blue bottoms have little or no management on their motion and their floats,” Modi stated.

Modi stated that this was a pure phenomenon and that one should be cautious whereas strolling barefoot on seashores throughout monsoons. “Typically victims who’re stung by the blue bottoms rub lemons on the damage or pour water on it. Nonetheless, this can be a mistaken method they usually should head to the closest hospital to obtain therapy,” he added.