An enormous moon jellyfish bloom has outdoor cinematographers racing to a dock off of North Vancouver’s Deep Cove.
It’s a good thing thing they don’t have much of a sting, as those diving into the cold waters of the Indian Arm — səl̓ilw̓ət in Hun’qumyi’num — are reporting thousands of them clumped together.
“All of a sudden you’re in this amphitheatre of floating jellyfish just pulsating,” said wildlife conservation photographer Steve Woods. “They’re just all over you, everywhere you look.”
“You’re basically swimming through the jellyfish and they’re bouncing off your face,” added cinematographer Josh Goodman.
“There will be times you can’t actually move through them because they’re so thick.”
The moon jelly is abundant in coastal British Columbia waters and found in West Coast bays and harbours from California to Alaska.
According to the Vancouver Aquarium’s director of animal care, however, the recent stretch of unseasonably warm weather may have something to do with this particular bloom.
“Jellyfish reproduction is often driven by changes of temperature in the water,” Mackenzie Neale explained. “This one looks quite a bit bigger than what I’ve seen in many, many years.”
The outdoor photographers interviewed by Global News have travelled all over the world to capture incredible wildlife images, but said it’s a rare opportunity to make such a short drive to get them — and an unforgettable face-to-face experience.
“I’ve seen some cool things,” said outdoor adventure photographer Zachary Moxley. “I’ve swam with whales, I’ve skydived over the Blue Hole in Belize, but to have this in our backyard, it’s just insane.”
“Canada is such a paradise country,” Woods added. “You have all of this absolutely amazing wildlife so close to where people live.”
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