It’s not just monkeys that Beaufort County residents should be aware of. Portuguese man-of-war, jellyfish-like blobs with a painful sting, have washed up on beaches north and south of Hilton Head Island.
Several warships were spotted on the beaches of Sullivan’s Island on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Tybee Island officials said several sightings were reported Friday morning.
The creatures’ barbed tentacles carry venom that can paralyze small fish and crustaceans. Their stings are excruciatingly painful for humans, causing red welts, swelling, and sometimes other symptoms such as nausea, difficulty breathing, and physical chills. A warship can sting even days after its death, so poking the colorful creatures is strongly discouraged.
If stung, beachgoers should soak the affected area in hot water and seek further medical attention, the Hilton Head Beach Patrol said. Sightings should be reported to lifeguards or local officials.
Despite its translucent appearance and long tentacles, the Portuguese man-of-war is not a jellyfish; it is not even a single organism. Each warship is an amalgamation of individual polyps, each serving a specialized purpose. One polyp forms the purple-blue, gas-filled float that bobs on the ocean’s surface, while others consist of feeding tentacles, defensive tentacles or reproductive organs, according to the South Carolina Department of Resources.
Hilton Head lifeguards had not received any reports of warship sightings as of Friday afternoon, according to Mike Wagner, director of Shore Beach Service.
Portuguese man-of-war are typically found in tropical or subtropical waters, but currents regularly wash the species onto South Carolina beaches during the winter months. Dozens of purple-blue blobs were found on Hilton Head beaches in December 2022.
As of Friday afternoon, no public sightings of warships had been reported in Beaufort County. A spokesperson for SCDNR could not immediately be reached by telephone for confirmation.
