DSF Jake the jelly fish

Help Jake get closer to Tofino, Vancouver Island, BC

• Use our hashtag, #DSFgeocache, to share Jake's adventure on social media and be entered to win an Ocean Keepers t-shirt!
• Become an Ocean Keeper to learn more about what you and David Suzuki Foundation can do for the ocean

Jellyfish are mostly composed of water and don't have hearts, brains or bones. Most jellyfish live less than a year and some of the smallest species live for just a few days! Some jellyfish have stinging cells in their tentacles which they use to inject toxins into their prey. They eat a range of food, including phytoplankton, tiny krill, fish eggs and larvae. Jellyfish can even repair their damaged tentacles by regenerating small amounts of tissue.

Around the world there are thought to be over 2,000 kinds of jellyfish. Approximately 75 of these jellyfish live their lives off the coast of British Columbia.  

Jellyfish don't have eyes like we do, although some species have eyespots, which are light sensitive spots on the rim of their bell. And while they may lack other senses, they can maintain their balance! They have sensory organs, also on the rim of their bell, that stimulate nerve endings when they tip too far one way and cause their muscles to contract, which brings the jellyfish the right way up! They can't hide from predators, but being transparent can help them avoid turtles and sunfish.  

Jellyfish use their tentacles to help them hunt. Some attach to the ocean floor with their short tentacles and use their longer tentacles to catch their prey while others just dangle their tentacles like fishing lines to catch passing prey.