The Great Ocean Journey 3D: The Return
The first film of the project "The Great Journey Into the Ocean 3D" is the record holder for the collection in Russia!
From April 22 in cinemas
Genre: documentary
Producers: Sara Cunliffe, Mike Downey
Director: Nick Stringer (Emmy Award Winner; Beware - Poison!)
Production: Great Britain, Denmark, Finland; 2008 r.
Budget: 3.5 million euros
Release date in Russia: April 22, 2010
Off-screen voice performed by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Yulia Rutberg
New movie of the famous team!
Continuation of the exciting story about the mysteries of the world's oceans and its inhabitants! Salty spray, cries of seagulls, sound of coastal waves: everyone loves the sea and dreams of immersing themselves in this wonderful, amazing and incomprehensible world of the ocean ... The main character - a sea turtle - calls on the road and becomes your guide on an amazing journey between continents in the stormy waves of the world ocean. You will find colorful coral reefs, fights with sharks, rare inhabitants of deep water, a colorful world of hot tropics and frightening cold Antarctic ice. How many mysteries and secrets are kept by the deep sea! Shipwrecks and the Bermuda Triangle Anomaly are nothing compared to what you are about to discover. On this amazing journey, you will discover all the power of the Ocean and the fragility of this complex underwater world, which so much needs our protection!
PLOT
Humanity knows little about the life of marine life. The Great Journey of the Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle is one of the rare exceptions. The film is based on real events that really happened to the sea turtle. Born on the shores of Florida, the turtle swims towards the Arctic across the North Atlantic. During her journey, she faces many dangers: her brothers and sisters are lost in the calm strip of the Sargasso Sea, she herself comes face to face with deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean and almost perishes in the hands of fishermen. The turtle heads north and is carried by the current from the warm waters of the Gulf Stream into the cold current. Here, off the coast of Northern Scotland, sharp reefs await her, which have already killed many Loggerhead turtles. But she miraculously remains alive, and again finds a saving way to the Gulf Stream.
When she reaches the Azores on the other side of the Atlantic, she meets a real ocean paradise here. Thousands of fish whirl in a single vortex, and many marine life from all over the ocean find food and rest here.
But this unique and wonderful world is in great danger. The ocean is undergoing major and important changes: fish are disappearing, sea levels are rising, and the shore where turtles are born may be flooded. Ultimately, all this will lead to their extinction. But, no matter how good the turtle is in the Azores, it is her turn to give her debt to nature and breed her offspring. To do this, she must swim back across the ocean and return to her native shore. When she finally reaches Florida, it's been 25 years! In the light of thousands of stars, she makes her way out of the sea to lay her eggs and continue her ancient lineage. The Journey of the Loggerhead Turtle is a great epic filled with tension, adventure, despair and hope.
PRESS REVIEWS
“This is a stunningly beautiful documentary about the journey of the Loggerhead Turtle. From the shores of Florida across the Atlantic Ocean, she sails at the call of her ancestors, constantly facing many dangers. Unlike most documentaries, this film has a real dramatic story, you will truly worry about a turtle! The undisputed gem of the Toronto International Film Festival. "
(Lostateminor)
“From the very first minutes, the film is completely captivating. The coast for a newborn turtle becomes an obstacle course, where the most important thing is to survive! And this is just the beginning - the Loggerhead turtle will have to swim across the ocean to the Azores, and then return to its native shores. An amazing and dramatic journey, in which we will meet sharks, whales, hundreds of fish species, the most unimaginable sea inhabitants - all this will not leave anyone indifferent. And, of course, amazing music is an integral part of this great story. "
(Cinema Tre)
“A stunning film that makes us re-understand the value of any life. The desperate struggle of the little turtle for its life is a great opportunity to appreciate how fragile and vulnerable the mysterious world of the ocean is. Perhaps, it is such films that help us understand the world around us and appreciate it at least a little more. "
(Tapei Times)
“Director Nick Stringer has turned an ordinary documentary into an event. A unique opportunity to learn about the ocean world without the boring details of ordinary nature films. "
(Variety)
FACTS FROM THE LIFE OF SEALS
Loggerhead Turtles
Loggerhead turtles are large reptiles that breathe air. They inhabit tropical and subtropical seas around the world and are the most abundant species of sea turtles and also the most actively migratory. Some individuals are known to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The name of these turtles comes from the large size of their head. Turtles of this species do not have "teeth", and their jaws are a modified "beak". The ribs have grown together millions of years ago to form a shell. The streamlined body and large flippers greatly contributed to their survival at sea.
However, sea turtles maintain a close connection with land. Females of this species should go ashore and lay eggs in the sand. Nests are established mainly in two parts of the world - on Masirah Island in the Middle East and on the Atlantic coast of Florida in North America, where the film was filmed. This is where the Loggerheads begin their lives as tiny turtles on land.
Sea turtles travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles during their migration from feeding to beaches where they lay their eggs. The Loggerhead Turtle's Journey is one of the world's most amazing animals. After spending 25 years on the road, adult females invariably return to the place where they were born in order to give life to the new generation.
Many turtles in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas make their journey along the Gulf Stream, which is full of floating sargassum algae. Here young turtles find a lot of food, moreover, they have few predators. After spending several years in the Atlantic, these young turtles return to coastal waters.
The Loggerhead turtles are listed as endangered species in the Red Book. In most cases, the death of these turtles is caused by the installation of shrimp nets and longline fishing, the consequences of which are well illustrated in the film.
Some interesting facts about the Loggerhead turtles:
- Sea turtles are among the oldest living reptiles. They have been on Earth for over 200 million years.
- Sea turtles make one of the longest migrations in nature - up to 15,000 km in 20 years.
- Loggerhead sea turtles can weigh up to 200 kg, reach 1.1 m in length and swim at speeds up to 24 km / h.
- Loggerhead sea turtles lay approximately 100 eggs per clutch.
- Female Loggerhead sea turtles make their way out to sea, making up to 500 dives every 12 hours, rising to breathe. During migration, turtles can rest or sleep underwater for several hours.
Humpback whales
Humpback whales live in oceans around the world. They usually migrate about 25,000 kilometers each year to feed during the summer season in polar waters. They then migrate to tropical and subtropical waters in winter to carry and give birth to a young. All this time they are starving and can live off the stored fat.
In humpback whales, the head is covered with pronounced tubercles. They feed mostly on krill and small fish. Males emit a series of complex sounds up to 20 minutes long - famous “whale songs” that can be repeated for hours.
Dolphin bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins live in groups called flocks. They can be hermits or live in groups of over 100 individuals. Bottlenose dolphins feed mainly on fish. To communicate, they emit a squeak and whistle sound generated by the passage of air through the throat. Dolphins often hunt schools of fish in groups, as shown in the movie, forming a spinning ball of fish. In order to catch prey, they use echolocation, which is similar in action to sonar. Dolphins make clicking sounds and listen for echoes to determine the location and size of potential prey.
Sperm whale
Sperm whales are distinguished by a particularly large head size. They reach 20 meters in length and have the largest brain of any animal in the world. In addition, they dive deeper than all mammals and hunt at depths of up to 3 kilometers. They feed on squid and fish. Sperm whales inhabit the entire territory from polar waters to the equator. Despite the fact that both males and females wander through temperate and tropical seas and oceans, only adult males live in polar waters.
Blue shark
The blue shark is one of the fastest sharks in the world. It lives in the deep waters of the oceans of temperate and tropical climates, feeding mainly on small fish and squid. The blue shark is especially likely to be caught by fishermen's nets. It is estimated that about 7 million individuals die each year as a result of capture. Worldwide, shark populations are declining dramatically.
These sharks reach 3.8 m in length and more. Naked sharks are viviparous, females give birth to up to 100 fry at a time. They migrate long distances in the Atlantic Ocean along the same path as the Loggerhead turtle.
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is the most important system of all ocean currents in the Northern Hemisphere, stretching from Florida to northwest Europe. It connects several currents: the Florida Current, the Gulf Stream itself and, eastward, the North Passat Current.
It is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, bringing warm and mild climate in winter to the UK and northwest Europe. Like a river, this current is 80 km wide and reaches a speed of 8 km / h. The Gulf Stream is home to countless species of marine life. Many of them use this current as a high-speed track, migrating from one power source to another. A notable example is the story of the Loggerhead turtles, which travel from one stream to another for most of their lives.
Sargassum algae
Sargassum algae are plants that float in the ocean. Their name comes from the Portuguese word for grapes. This algae is like a floating hotel for the sea creatures who can only survive here. These include the Sea Clowns and Crab Planis filmed in the film. Huge masses of algae gather in the ocean. They serve as a nursery for baby Loggerhead turtles until they are old enough to take care of themselves.
Jellyfish population growth
In recent years, scientists have found a sharp increase in the number of jellyfish in the oceans, as overfishing affects the extermination of most species of predators that feed on jellyfish. Jellyfish also eat fish larvae, preventing the fish from re-growing. Experts warn that we could flood the oceans with jellyfish instead of fish if fishing is not properly monitored.
THE DIRECTOR'S INTENTION
Nick Stringer
“The achievements of modern cinema open up almost unlimited possibilities for filmmakers making films about wildlife. "March of the Penguins", "Birds", "Earth" - all these films serve as excellent examples of how technology helps to reveal the director's idea. We begin to better understand wildlife when we are emotionally involved in what is happening. Not surprisingly, cinemas are best suited for panoramic views of the extraordinary beauty of wildlife. How else to convey this splendor to the viewer?
I always wanted to tell a story about the sea, about this cradle, in which all life on Earth originated. The sea has spirituality, mood and almighty character, it brings us peace. But in reality it is a mysterious and unfriendly world. Sea inhabitants roam the entire ocean, but most of their voyages remain a mystery to us. The Loggerhead Turtle's odyssey across the North Atlantic is one of the few voyages we're starting to understand. This is a real epic. It starts from the moment the turtle is born and continues throughout 25 years of its life. This time is necessary for her in order to swim back and forth across the entire North Atlantic and get to the coast on which she was born.
In many ways, this turtle personifies our relationship with the ocean: as a land dweller, she dares to return to the ocean and make it her home. But, nevertheless, she remains alien to the ocean world, she still breathes air and inevitably has to return to earth to lay eggs. It is very exciting to watch a turtle crawling out of the sea in the night after its long journey. Overwhelmed with awe, you cannot help but ask: "Where did you come from?", "What did you see?" I wanted to learn more about her story, take viewers into her world, and experience travel through the eyes of a turtle.
For millions of years they have plowed the seas, survived almost everything, including global catastrophes, but they may disappear in a few decades. The oceans are undergoing major and global changes. Nets and longlines, stretching for tens of miles, catch whatever comes in their path, the ice sheet melts, and the rising sea level washes away the shores where the turtles lay their eggs. What hope does the turtles have?
The more you learn about this story, the more incredible the path of our turtle seems. From the moment it emerges from the egg, the Loggerhead turtle enters a phase that scientists call "rabies" - it will run down the coast without stopping, encounter ghost crabs, pelicans and then swim for up to three days before reaching the Gulf Stream. Only 50% of turtles survive this stage. After the turtle surrenders to the current, it is carried away at a speed of about 5 km / h to the north. It seems that it is almost impossible to overcome all the difficulties that await her. The turtle will fall into violent storms, it can be carried by the current to the equatorial calm zone or, worse, to the icy north, provided that it is not eaten earlier. Only a few lucky ones make it to the Azores.
The turtle faces many challenges. Only one in 10,000 Loggerheads survives this voyage across the North Atlantic, and yet it is a way of life that has survived for 150 million years, dating back to the days of the dinosaurs.
Some will say: "They are just animals, why should I think about it?" But when you get closer to these amazing inhabitants of the ocean, you soon realize that each of them is special, with its own character. They no doubt experience sensations that we might define as fear, pleasure, joy, longing, or pain. I really think it is necessary to draw the attention of the audience to this. "
Julia Rutberg - voice-over
Julia Rutberg was born in Moscow into a hereditary family of actors. Father - Ilya Grigorievich Rutberg - Honored Artist of Russia, one of the founders of the student theater "Our House". My mother's grandparents (Elena Kudelskaya and Nikolai Suvorov) danced in the famous NKVD ensemble (the "Island of Dance" theater). Grandmother was a brilliant performer of folk dance, English newspapers wrote about her: "Russian beauty Lenochka Kudelskaya." My grandfather was a soloist of classical dances ("Shurale"). Mom - Irina Nikolaevna Suvorova, graduated from the Gnessin Institute, taught at a music school.
Gnessin Institute, taught at a music school. Julia owes her choice of profession to her father. When asked what influence her father had on her, he replies: "It's at the chromosome level." The fact is that Julia and her father are very similar. Once, when she was 4 years old, one person lived, seeing her, exclaimed: "God, what an ugly girl!" But Yulina's mother was not at a loss: “Yes, the spitting image of dad. It will be happy, the omen is such ... ".
Julia Rutberg did not enter the Shchukin school from the first time, and went to GITIS at the pop department. I studied there for two years with excellent marks, but still every year I entered Shchukinskoye. And in the end, her efforts were rewarded, she was enrolled in the Shukin school for the course of A.A. Kazan.
“I so dreamed of doing the acting profession! She achieved what she wanted and studied voraciously. If self-demonstration - three excerpts instead of one. Participated in all skits. For 10 years after graduation, our course on October 23 staged theatrical congratulations to teachers, students - God knows what they were doing! " - said Rutberg in an interview.
In 1988, Julia graduated from the Shchukin School and was accepted into the troupe of the Theater. Vakhtangov. On his stage, she created images: Zoya in Zoya's apartment, Dvoyra in Sunset, Durandas in Two Hours in Paris, Hetty in A Lady without Camellias, Clotilde in I Don't Know You No More, Darling, Alcmene in "Amphitryon", Julie in "Miss Julie", Maureen Foland in "Queen of Beauty".
Julia Rutberg made her film debut in 1989 in the musical "The Maid of Rouen, nicknamed Pyshka." She starred in more than 30 films, including: "Stalin's Funeral", "Old Young People", "Let's Part While Good", "Makarov", "Check", "Fatalists", "Atlantis", "Goodbye, Dr. Freud ”, TV series“ Moscow Windows ”,“ Detectives ”,“ Looking Down ”,“ Bachelors ”,“ Plot ”. Julia works in radio and television. She was a co-author of the TV series about the theater “Saturday Evening with a Star” (1996-1997). Julia Rutberg is one of the most talented actresses in Russia. Her acting talent has received numerous prestigious awards. In 1997, for her role in the play "Khlestakov", Yulia received the "Seagull" prize. In 2001 she became an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. In 2007 she was awarded by the Peacemaker World Charitable Alliance for her contribution to the cause of peace.
OBJECTIVES AND TECHNOLOGIES
Nick Stringer, Director
“This is the most ambitious project I've ever worked on. It is known that films about the ocean are very difficult to make. A hurricane can put production on hold for weeks, but we filmed in areas where the worst hurricanes are raging, and we only had a year to complete the film. We faced a very difficult task. But with two of the world's best underwater cameramen, Rory McGuinness and Rick Rosenthal, I am in good hands. They are both outstanding talents. It is a great pleasure to watch these professionals as they shoot marine life.
To explore the ocean world through the eyes of a turtle and tell its story - these are the tasks that we faced. Emotional style and new technologies have helped us immerse viewers in the world of the turtle. "
Rory McGuinness, who spent half of his life photographing marine life, sums up: “It felt like I turned into a turtle - I lived, felt and looked at the world as a turtle would look at it. We sympathize with the animal, and must be aware of how vulnerable they are, and that they must be reckoned with ... "
Nick Stringer: “Getting close to a small turtle climbing the beach requires state-of-the-art, high-resolution, compact cameras. The presence of such a technique allowed us to swim with the turtle all its way literally side by side. This creates a truly impressive big-screen image, allowing us to experience the incredible journey of the turtle.
Another problem is that it is impossible for a human to track a single turtle on a 25-year journey. Dr. Janette Wieneken, a renowned turtle biologist, was very helpful with her advice on where and when to shoot. We filmed in several locations, filming turtles of different ages to put the whole story together. Hatching turtles were filmed on a beach in Florida, and by extraordinary luck we were able to shoot rare footage of juveniles in the Azores. We filmed adult turtles in Florida and the Caribbean.
Finding turtles is quite challenging, taking them off is like trying your luck. You can spend days diving in the ocean, diving into reefs, looking for signs of activity, waiting for the weather to improve and never see anything, but the ocean always comes with surprises. One of the successes overtook us after two weeks of searching for mating turtles, and only on the last day of filming did our aerial observer receive a signal. They spotted a pair of turtles just a few hundred meters from the boat. Slowly Rory approached, and we were finally rewarded with a wonderful scene of two turtles chained in a loving embrace. He swam in their company for over half an hour until he ran out of air. It was such an amazing feeling to finish the main shoot so brilliant.
The same thing happened in the Azores. After many unfortunate days, Rick Rosenthal finally captured a stunning ball of fish, petrels, dolphins and young tuna circling in a vortex.
Until we know where the turtles swim, it is almost impossible to find them on the ocean path, so we had to shoot some scenes of the film with the rescued turtles in a specially built sea studio. Since nearly half of the Loggerhead turtles are born in Florida, we set up a marine studio at Gumbo Limbo Sanctuary in Florida. Led by Janette Vineken of Florida Atlantic University, we filmed the birth of the turtles and the non-migrating juvenile turtle, Phoebe, in the main film studio. In special containers with a built-in wave installation, the illusion of the ocean was created. Snow storms were also artificially created, and the shooting of a large-capacity tanker destroying a raft of algae was carried out using computer special effects. "
The most surprising was the shooting associated with the emergence of turtles from eggs. They are no larger than a little finger in size and spend their early days hiding in sargassum algae that float on the ocean's surface. Trying to recreate the ocean surface, the play of light and movement was a particularly challenging task. It took elaborate wave setups, wave trays and incredible patience to do this! All of our star turtles were released after filming ended.
In addition, some of the scenes were created using the most advanced special effects and green screen technology, in which characters and backgrounds are filmed separately. "
Other technologies
The film used the latest developments in HD technology. Hidden cameras by Iconix helped immerse themselves in the world of the hatched turtles, while Cineflex gamble cameras helped create a spectacular aerial view of the ocean.
“Using HD in a marine environment is very exciting as the camera remains completely silent,” says Rick Rosenthal. “The animals we regularly swam with in the open ocean — huge whales, dolphins, marlins, tuna and sharks — all react to the sound of bubbles escaping from the scuba gear and the sound of a camera. With HD technology, the sound produced is minimal, which allowed us to work in relative silence. It helped a lot in filming some of the most challenging parts of The Great Ocean Trip 3D: The Return.
BIOGRAPHY
Nick Stringer, director
Rory McGuinness has been making wildlife and feature films for over 35 years. He is an excellent director of photography while also having an excellent understanding of underwater photography.
Among his works are films: "Planet Earth", "Whale Shark", "Rescued by Dolphins" and "Life of Mammals" for the BBC, "Killer of Paradise" for ABC, "Blue Abyss" for NHK. Rory has also directed historical and socio-political documentaries, including Emmy-nominated Search, and Muddy Water, Japan Film Festival winner for Best Environmental Film.
Henning Lohner, composer
Henning Lohner grew up near Palo Alto, California. His parents were immigrants from Germany. Henning returned to his historic homeland to complete his study of music at the University of Frankfurt. In 1987 he becomes a Master of Arts. Two years earlier, Lohner had become an assistant to the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and worked with him at La Scala on the production of Light.
Henning's audio-visual production, Raw Material Album 1-11 (1995), has toured all the major exhibitions in continental Europe, including the City Museum in The Hague, the Acoustic Art Festival in Rome and the Video Art Festival in Berlin. In 1996 Henning moved to Los Angeles and worked as a composer for Media Ventures. He has assisted with Broken Arrow, Gladiator and The Thin Red Line, and wrote additional music themes for Laura's Star, Spanish English. Henning then co-wrote The Ring with Naomi Watts.
In total, Henning has created music for over 40 feature films. He especially enjoys working on horror films and thrillers, so he was the composer of such films as Ring 2 (also with Naomi Watts), Bloodrain, Alien Forest, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Story.
Greek heroes turned to stone under the gaze of the mythical witch Medusa the Gorgon. Will the real and at the same time the world's largest jellyfish - Arctic cyanea - make you freeze from shock? This floating nightmare has a bell two meters in diameter and stretches out its tentacles 30 meters! Find out the truth about giant jellyfish, their size and lifestyle, as well as the chances of meeting them in nature.
First place: Arctic cyanea - the longest animal on the planet
The owner of the longest body prefers the cold waters of the White, Kara and Barents Seas, although it often descends into the latitudes of Boston and northern Portugal. In 1870, residents of one of the villages on the shores of the Massachusetts Bay went out to collect fish left in the sand after a storm, and found a gigantic jellyfish thrown out by the sea.
The measurements of the animal showed:
- 7.5 feet (2.3 m) - bell span;
- 120 feet (36.6 m) - length of tentacles;
- 121.4 ft (37 m) - total length from crown to tips of tentacles.
Even the blue whale falls short of the cyanea record of 3.5 m!
What does a giant jellyfish look like and what it eats
The dome of cyanea, shimmering with a greenish light, is painted burgundy closer to the edges and is divided into 16 blades. Numerous tentacles of the animal stretch behind the dome in a sloppy pink train. Thanks to them, the jellyfish received a second name - hairy.
For a person, a meeting with an Arctic giant is fraught with painful burns. The National Geographic Society of the United States considers cyania to be potentially fatal, although the death from its poison has been recorded only once.
Runner-up: Bell Nomura - the yellow giant from the Yellow Sea
Kanihi Nomura, a zoologist and director of fisheries in the Japanese prefecture of Fukui, puzzled by jellyfish clogging up nets, found and described this species in 1921. The animal resembles a lump of tangled fibers from the central part of a pumpkin fruit hanging from a two-meter bell. The second name of the giant is the lion's mane.
Nomura's tentacles are small, but the weight of one specimen reaches 200 kg. In 2009, off the coast of Japan, a fishing boat capsized, the crew of which fought against the nomurs that filled the net. The efforts of fishermen to throw the lion's mane out of the nets end sadly: numerous tentacles always find a small strip of open skin, even on a person wearing a marine robe.
How the bell of Nomura and his brethren burns
Jellyfish are slow and awkward, it is difficult for them to keep the caught prey. So you have to act as a paralyzing poison, to grow stinging cells with a coiled harpoon thread inside. When a crustacean or fish touches a tiny protrusion near such a cage, the thread instantly shoots out, pierces the side and injects poison.
Jellyfish toxins are poorly understood, but it has been established that one of their components is histamine, which is responsible for a sharp allergic reaction. Other substances in the composition of the poison affect the nervous system, paralyzing plankton fines and causing severe pain in marine mammals and humans.
Third place: chrysaora - gentle and burning beauty
Chrysaora took a fancy to the eastern and western shelves of the North American continent. Its dome reaches a meter in diameter, is painted in a sandy color with dark radial stripes. 24 thin stinging tentacles up to 5 m long hang from the edges of the dome. Around the mouth, located on the lower side of the dome, 4 more tentacles grow, lush, like a feather boa. All together it looks like a lady's hat with ribbons.
The second name of the underwater beauty is sea nettle. Like the plant of the same name, chrysaora burns sharply, painfully, but not for long. After an hour, the burning and itching stop, and the next day the redness also disappears.
How Chrysaors migrate
There is an opinion that jellyfish float only with the flow. However, they can easily move wherever they want, collecting water under the canopy and throwing it out with strong jolts. This method of movement is called reactive.
Chrysaors make multi-day sea voyages in search of prey: crested jellyfish and plankton. Sometimes they gather in clusters of tens of thousands of individuals - zoologists call this phenomenon "swarm" or "bloom". Why the Chrysaors behave this way remains to be studied.
Fourth place: purple striped jellyfish
This rare creature lives off the coast of California. The diameter of its bell reaches 70 cm, the length of thin marginal tentacles is 2 m. In youth, the jellyfish is colorless, it is decorated with barely outlined dark stripes and edging along the edge of the dome. With age, the stripes turn bright brown, and the jellyfish itself takes on a rich blueberry color.
The burns inflicted by the purple striped jellyfish are not fatal, but unpleasant, like a lash. In 2012, 130 vacationers on the Monterey Bay beach were injured after meeting with a large group of young, and therefore poorly visible in the water, animals.
Why is the body of the jellyfish transparent?
The jellyfish does not have a single internal organ. Their flesh is two rows of cells, between them is a thick layer of gelatinous substance, which is 98% water. The jellyfish looks like it is made of liquid glass.
Cells share all the body's work with each other. Some produce toxins, others digest prey, and others are responsible for sensitivity. There are cells whose responsibilities include the prompt restoration of body parts bitten off by turtles and other predators. But since there are only two layers of cells, you can see the general outlines of objects through the jellyfish.
Fifth place: Black Sea corner
For the Mediterranean and Black Seas, this is the largest representative of jellyfish. The diameter of the bell reaches 60 cm, weight - 10 kg. The cornerot does not have long trapping tentacles characteristic of the chrysaore or cyanea. There are small mouth lobes that resemble the young roots of plump seedlings.
Cornerots are hardly noticeable, because on their transparent colorless body there is only one colored area - the purple edging of the dome. Bathers discover jellyfish when they touch the floating jelly. For most people, this animal is safe, and only strong allergy sufferers react to its soft touch with a loose hives.
Can a jellyfish feel
Sight, hearing, taste - this is not about jellyfish. The nervous system is too primitive. However, the sailors noticed long ago that before the storm the corners disappeared, moving farther from the coast.
It turned out that animals carry tubes with calcareous crystals along the edges of the dome. In response to infrasounds that appear in the sea 10-15 hours before the storm, crystals begin to move and touch microscopic sensitive bumps.
This signal is perceived by nerve cells. Now the sailors are armed with the device "jellyfish's ear", which informs in advance about the approach of bad weather.
The world's largest cyanea jellyfish and its smaller sisters are some of the most beautiful ocean dwellers. They have been dancing slowly and mysteriously in the thickness of salt water for hundreds of millions of years. During this time, they acquired delicate paints, burning poisons and the finest hearing. But zoologists are sure that not all the secrets of transparent beauties have been revealed.
Paula Weston
She has no heart, bones, eyes and brain. It is 95% water, but it remains the most active marine predator.
This unusual creature is the jellyfish, an invertebrate animal belonging to the Intestinal type (the same type as corals).
The body of a jellyfish consists of a jelly-like bell, tentacles, and mouths that are used to eat prey. Medusa got its name from the resemblance to the mythical Medusa Gorgon, in which snakes protruded from her head instead of hair.
There are more than 200 species of jellyfish (class Cubomedusa) in various sizes, from tiny Caribbean jellyfish to arctic cyanians, whose bell reaches 2.5 m in diameter, tentacles are approximately 60 m long (2 times longer than a blue whale), and weigh more than 250 kg.
How jellyfish move
Some jellyfish swim using jet propulsion, while others attach to other objects, such as seaweed. Despite using jet propulsion, jellyfish still do not swim well enough to overcome the force of waves and currents.
The reactive movement of the jellyfish is due to the presence of coronal muscles lining the lower part of its bell. When these muscles push water out of the bell, a recoil occurs, pushing the body in the opposite direction.
The jellyfish has no brain or eyes, so it relies entirely on nerve cells to help it move, react to food and danger. The senses tell the jellyfish in which direction to move, and also determine the source of light.
With the help of special bags located on the rim of the bell, jellyfish perfectly balance in the water. When the body of the jellyfish rolls onto its side, the bags force the nerve endings to contract the muscles, and the body of the jellyfish flattens out.
Hunters
Despite their harmless appearance, jellyfish are wonderful hunters. They sting and kill their victims with special stinging cells, nematocysts. There is a small harpoon inside each cage. As a result of touch or movement, it straightens up and shoots at its prey, injecting poison into it. The toxicity of this toxin depends on the type of jellyfish. Reactions to poison can also be different: from a mild rash to death.
Jellyfish don't hunt humans. They prefer to feed on microscopic organisms, fish and other jellyfish. People can be accidentally injured only when jellyfish enter the coastal area.
A jellyfish swimming in the open sea can be both a predator and a prey. Due to its transparency, it is excellent for masking and is almost invisible in water. This is important, since, despite the jet propulsion, these organisms are entirely at the mercy of the current, and, as you know, there is nowhere to hide in the open sea.
Life cycle
The beginning of the life cycle of jellyfish is very similar, although not completely, to the beginning. The larvae swim in the water until they find a hard surface (rock or shell) to attach to. The attached larvae grow and transform into polyps, which at this stage resemble sea anemones.
Then, horizontal grooves begin to form in the polyps. They go deeper until the polyp turns into a stack of individual pancake-like polyps. These flat polyps, one after the other, break off from the stack and float away. From this point on, the breakaway polyp looks like an adult jellyfish.
Jellyfish have a short life cycle. The most tenacious species live up to 6 months. These creatures usually die in sea waters or fall prey to other predators. Moonfish and leatherback turtle are the most dangerous predators that feed on jellyfish (Researchers do not know how turtles and fish can eat jellyfish along with poisonous nematocysts without harming themselves).
Despite their incredible fragility, jellyfish are complex enough. The breathing of these coelenterates is carried out through the entire surface of the body. It is capable of absorbing oxygen and emitting carbon dioxide.
Other "jellyfish"
The sea is inhabited by many other creatures, which, although they are called jellyfish, are not. One of these species is very similar to a jellyfish.
Ctenophores look and behave like jellyfish, but they are not "real jellyfish" because they do not have stinging cells. Jellyfish inhabit seas and oceans around the world. They are most often found in coastal areas, although deep-sea species are known to produce fantastic light thanks to bioluminescence.
Evolutionary mystery
Given the complexity of the anatomical structure and the way these sea creatures are hunted, it is difficult to imagine how the transitional forms between nemedusa and modern jellyfish could have survived. Jellyfish appear in the fossil record suddenly and without transitional forms.
All the features of a jellyfish are important for survival: bags that help them swim in the right direction, senses that warn them about the approach of a predator or prey, and stinging nematocysts. Therefore, it is quite logical to conclude that any transitional form, devoid of these fully developed traits, would quickly lead to the extinction of the species. Evidence indicates that jellyfish have always been jellyfish since their Creation by God on the 5th day of Creation week (Genesis 1:21).
Did you know that jellyfish are not only beautiful and unusual inhabitants of the seas and oceans, but also a rather popular delicacy, especially in Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia and other Asian countries. Is it possible to cook an exotic jellyfish dish at home? In continuation of the post, the personal experience of one culinary specialist.
Jellyfish are eaten and cooked in different ways. The Chinese, for example, wash them, remove the tentacles and pickle them in a mixture of salt and alum for several weeks or even months using a complex technology, after which they sometimes even dry them. Before use, the product is soaked, and then boiled for a short time. If you cook soaked jellyfish for a little longer, they become too tough. They write that jellyfish are an extremely useful product.
I want to tell you about my experiences with the preparation and use of our Black Sea jellyfish for food. I foresee immediately the objections and indignation of many: why do we need this? Where are we and where are the jellyfish? I won’t take that into my mouth! Etc. But do not promise. Who knows where BP will find you? Even if not B, but individual. And so that it does not turn into a truly P, unnecessary knowledge will not be superfluous. I don't want to fantasize about shipwrecks and other situations when this knowledge can be useful, in short: read!
There are several kilometers from my city to the Black Sea Bay. Recently, having rested with my family on a picnic on the beach, I caught seven kilo jellyfish in a basin there and brought them home.
First experience, unsuccessful
After rinsing two kilograms of jellyfish under the tap, I put them in a saucepan, sprinkling abundantly with salt.
Soon the jellyfish let out the juice, however, quite a bit. After a few hours, they were a very unsightly sight, especially when compared to jellyfish from another batch.
Perhaps, in a few weeks or months, they would have let out of themselves almost all the water, especially if I added alum to the salt, as the Chinese do. I realized that this is not our method, I washed the jellyfish from salt and processed them according to the second method.
The second experience, also unsuccessful
I dipped two more kilograms of washed jellyfish into boiling water and cooked for 15 minutes. However, I cooked it - it is loudly said. Until the water boiled again, it took almost 10 minutes, so they actually did not boil for long.
During this time, the jellyfish shrank considerably, releasing water, and when I took them out of the boiling water, they weighed noticeably less - 958 g.
Cooling down, the jellyfish continued to release water from themselves and shrink, and eventually even decreased in volume. The weight has decreased to 295g.
I chopped one finely, seasoned with pepper, sprinkled with vinegar, oil, salt to taste, and tried it. The taste is pleasant, but the jellyfish's own taste was not felt. Only the seasonings I added tasted. Smell - apart from the scent of the spices - the pleasant scent of the sea. Density - like soft jelly, not dense enough. Therefore, in order for the jellyfish to thicken further, I sprinkled them abundantly with salt and left them for several days.
On the second day, they let out a lot of water and swam in the resulting concentrated brine. The smell remained pleasant despite the fact that the jar was kept warm. A week later, taking out the jellyfish from the brine, I weighed them. From two kilograms of live jellyfish, only 70 grams are left!
Moreover, the bodies of the jellyfish softened and lost their shape. Taking 100 grams of such salted jellyfish (I also boiled and salted the rest, so I had a little more product), I washed them from salt and soaked them in fresh water for an hour, changing the water a couple of times. As it turned out later, it took longer to soak: they remained slightly salty. Weighing after soaking showed that only 80 grams remained! I fried this portion for a few minutes in sunflower oil. As a result, it turned out ridiculously small: 33 grams! This is from about three kilograms of live jellyfish.
I didn't add any seasonings, but the taste of the product was pleasant, albeit slightly salty. The density is like fried butter, and the consistency was like jelly. But 33 grams out of 3 kilograms is too little! They write that jellyfish is 98% water, but this means that the remaining 2% is dry matter. I have a little more than one percent left, and the substance is far from dry! ...
I came to the conclusion that in the process of cooking jellyfish they lost not only water, but also nutrients, so I decided to continue the experiments to find the best way.
The third experience, successful
I assumed that my mistake was that I did not boil the jellyfish for a long time, and they did not thicken enough when cooking. Therefore, I went to the bay again and brought another 5 kilograms of jellyfish from there. I cooked them in two passes in such a way that after boiling they cooked for about half an hour. During this time, the jellyfish shrank noticeably, releasing water from themselves, and after cooking, during the cooling, the water was almost not released. From five kilograms of live jellyfish, 432 grams were obtained. This represents 8.6% of live weight.
Half - 216 grams - I cut into large pieces and fried in sunflower oil for several minutes.
The result was 164 g of fried jellyfish, which is 6.5% of the original live weight. The view, in contrast to the previous experience, is very appetizing.
I salted them to taste, added a pinch of sugar, sprinkled with vinegar, pepper with a ground mixture of peppers. After standing overnight in the refrigerator, the pieces absorbed the marinade and were ready. I am describing. Density like pickled butter. The consistency resembles a dense elastic jelly. The aroma of the added seasonings plus the pronounced scent of the sea. It tastes a bit like pickled mushrooms. However, you can give any taste to the product, since jellyfish do not have a pronounced taste of their own. I won't be surprised if next time I can make a sweet dish like jelly or marmalade from jellyfish. This is still a joke, but who knows!
The fourth experience, also successful
As I said, I only fried half of the boiled jellyfish. I salted the other half, sprinkling abundantly with salt. In a few days, they still let the water out of themselves and swam in the brine. The jellyfish retained their shape, decreasing only in size. From 216g of boiled jellyfish after salting it turned out to be 119g, and after one and a half hours of soaking with a change of water - 100g. This is from 2500 g of live jellyfish. That is 4% of live weight.
The appearance of the product was not as appetizing as that of those jellyfish that were not salted. They were soft, there was no elasticity. After a short frying in vegetable oil, 72 g of fried product was obtained. This is a little less than three percent of the starting live weight.
Dressed with pepper and vinegar, the taste of jellyfish was not inferior to those that were pickled without salting, although they were inferior in appearance.
conclusions
1. In some extreme cases, jellyfish can become a reliable food source with a large cooking pot and sufficient fuel. The yield of the finished product is, depending on the degree of processing, from three to nine percent of live weight. In the presence of salt, boiled jellyfish can be harvested for future use.
2. It is not necessary to separate the tentacles from the umbrella, it is necessary to cook jellyfish for half an hour from the moment of boiling.
3. Boiled jellyfish can either be salted for future use, or fried in oil (the best option), or eaten unfried, which is not so tasty, but acceptable.
4. With the help of various seasonings, spices and spices, jellyfish can be given the most varied taste and aroma, but even without any additives, boiled jellyfish are completely edible and do not have an unpleasant taste or smell.
Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thank you for
that you discover this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and the goosebumps.
Join us at Facebook and In contact with
Are you also looking forward to a vacation to spend it at sea? As much as we love to splash carelessly in its waves, we should not forget that danger can lurk in them. Namely, jellyfish are often cute, but sting mercilessly. And although they are almost entirely composed of water, the stinging cells of many of them contain poison, which is injected into the victim faster than a bullet flies. So it's time to find out which jellyfish should not be approached even for the sake of a beautiful picture and what to do if you are still stung.
We are in site chose 10 dangerous jellyfish, whose venom is capable of provoking a serious allergic reaction and may even be dangerous to health and life. We hope you don't have to face any of these jellyfish. But it doesn't hurt to be careful.
Sea wasp (Chironex fleckeri)
This jellyfish is more agile than its relatives and more dangerous: while ordinary jellyfish react to light and float with the current, this one uses vision and decides where to swim. Its tentacles can reach 1.5 m in length, and the supply of venom from one sea wasp is enough to kill 50 people.
Where occurs: tropical seas of Australia and Oceania.
Sea nettle (Chrysaora)
Typically, an individual reaches 30 cm in diameter, and its 24 tentacles can be up to 2 m long. The "bite" of the sea nettle is extremely painful, after which a rash and aching pain remain, but at least these jellyfish are not life threatening.
Where occurs: coasts of North America, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
Irukandji (Carukia barnesi)
The jellyfish itself reaches only 15-20 mm in diameter, but its tentacles can be 35 cm long. Don't let its size and cuteness deceive you: this is one of the most dangerous and poisonous jellyfish in the world, the consequences of contact with it even received a special name - irukandji syndrome... A small amount of poison is enough to cause severe pain in various parts of the body, vomiting, spasms, burning skin, heart palpitations, high blood pressure and acute heart failure.
Where occurs: the coast of Australia and Oceania.
Lion's mane (Cyanea capillata)
A real giant jellyfish: the diameter of the dome can reach 2.5 m, and the tentacles - 30 m in length. For its beauty, it is not for nothing that they called it the lion's mane, but the tentacles of this sea inhabitant leave a very painful burn, and the toxins in the poison can cause allergies in humans or kill small fish.
Where occurs: in all northern seas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Physalia (Physalia physalis)
The Portuguese boat, aka physalia, is not even a jellyfish, but a whole colony of polypoid and jellyfish individuals. Hidden under a small beautiful bubble are very long "tentacles" - in fact, these are polyps covered with stinging cells with a deadly poison. Their length can reach 10 m. Physalias move in groups of up to 100 colonies, and sometimes in resorts they have to close entire beaches because of them.
Where occurs: tropical seas, but often appears in temperate seas.
Cornerots (Stomolophus meleagris)
The spherical dome of this jellyfish is somewhat reminiscent of a cannonball. In some countries, for example China, the curnels are even considered edible (after proper processing, of course). It should be remembered, however, that the venom of this jellyfish contains toxins that can cause heart problems in people.
Where occurs: the mid-western part of the Atlantic Ocean, the east-central and north-western parts of the Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean, Azov, Black and Red Seas.
Crosspieces (Gonionemus vertens)
The bell of this small jellyfish reaches only 80 mm, and a red-brown cross is visible on the body. She has a lot of tentacles that can stretch a lot. Krestovichki sting very painfully, but, fortunately, their "bites" are not fatal.
Where occurs: coastal waters of China and California.
Jellyfish Alatinaalata
The largest individuals of this jellyfish are found in the Pacific Ocean and reach 30 cm in length. Hawaiian individuals are smaller - up to 15 cm in length. These jellyfish also cause the deadly Irukandji syndrome, and the transparent dome makes them even more invisible in the water.
Where occurs: between the Pacific, Atlantic and possibly Indian Ocean, as well as the coast of Pakistan.
Nomura (Nemopilema nomurai)
This is one of the largest jellyfish in the world: its diameter reaches 2 m, and it can weigh about 200 kg. Nomura are dangerous not only because they are poisonous, they also damage fishing equipment. There is a known case when a fishing vessel was sunk because of them: jellyfish clogged the nets, and the crew could not cope with them.
Where occurs: Far Eastern seas of China, Japan, Korea and Russia.
Pelagia nightlight (Pelagia noctiluca)
The jellyfish can emit light in short bursts, and its color ranges from pink and purple to golden. They are often carried to the beaches in waves, as they live near the coast. Although the jellyfish are small (6-12 cm in diameter of the dome), they sting painfully, and their venom causes burning, inflammation, an allergic rash and leaves blisters.
Where occurs: Mediterranean and Red Seas, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
What if you get stung by a jellyfish?
- Immediately rinse the burn area well with vinegar: it neutralizes the stinging cells.
- As you continue to pour vinegar on the burn, use the tweezers to gently remove the remaining tentacles. They can continue to sting when in contact with the skin, so it is best to remove them with gloves or, if they are not at hand, by putting plastic bags on your hands.
- Apply a heating pad or soak the burn in hot water for at least 20-40 minutes. The temperature should be at least 45 ºC, but not too high so as not to burn yourself. This will reduce inflammation.
- Take an antihistamine and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (such as ibuprofen).
- If there are open wounds on the skin, cleanse and apply antibiotic ointment 3 times a day. Apply a bandage if necessary.
- See your doctor if the burning sensation and inflammation persist.
When should you see a doctor?
You must immediately call an ambulance in the following cases:
- if you have been stung by a deadly poisonous jellyfish from the ones listed above;
- if it was a very large jellyfish or if you have heard reports of poisonous jellyfish in the area;
- if most of the arm or leg is affected, the area of damage is large, and also if the jellyfish stung in the face (especially in the eye area) or in the groin;
- if there are a lot of tentacles on the skin;
- if you experience nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, muscle cramps, or pass out;
- if the rash spreads quickly over the skin or appears far from the burn site;
- if a severe allergic reaction develops;
- if a jellyfish stung a child, elderly person or a person with cardiovascular diseases or allergies.
In no case should you do anything with a jellyfish bite
Now you know which jellyfish to avoid and how to help in case of contact with jellyfish. What precautions do you take when going to sea?
