Divers and marine wildlife enthusiasts were left stunned in amazement after encountering a giant jellyfish as big as humans and capturing it on camera.
In the incredible video, Dan Abbott and BBC Earth host Lizzie Daly are seen exploring the wildlife around the British coast when they suddenly came across a humongous barrel jellyfish.
The pair was on their final leg of the British Isles tour and just off the Falmouth coast when the pleasant surprise occurred and left them gobsmacked.
According to Mr. Abbott, who is a Colchester-based underwater cinematographer, the barrel jellyfish they encountered was “about a meter and a half long, probably half a meter in width.”
“It’s the biggest jellyfish I’ve ever seen, in some ways I was shocked but not in a negative way, more awestruck,” the 32-year-old added.
“It was an incredible animal, we both came out the water completely mind blown from that experience.”
Lizzie and Dan had been traveling to different marine wildlife hotspots as a part of their Wild Ocean Week tour. From swimming with grey seals in the Farne Islands to minke whales off the coast of Scotland, nothing surprised the pair more than the gigantic jellyfish.
“The thing that this whole week has been about is demonstrating that you don’t need to go to the other side of the world to see amazing marine wildlife, there’s plenty on our doorstep,” Dan added.
“It was myself and Lizzie Daly, that’s the person in the photo, we travelled all around the UK to various different marine hot spots. The final leg was in Cornwall where we went for a dive where we encountered the enormous barrel jellyfish.
“Cornwall was nice and warm for diving, and because of the jellyfish that was my favorite part but it’s all been good, each one has been very special.”
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