Watch a jellyfish balloon its way through the water. This enchanting animal may seem complicated. But really, jellyfish are very simple. They have mouths, stomachs, and an epidermis (skin) to hold all that Jell-O-like stuff inside. Jellyfish have no eyes, no bones, and no brains. Good thing they don’t have to make any decisions about where to go! Gigantic or teeny, jellies drift along, following the ocean’s current. 

Jellyfish may not have a plan for survival—or for anything. But God designed them with unique protection. Their watery bodies have natural camouflage in the ocean. Their tentacles catch food. These long or short arms are also loaded with stinging cells called cnidocytes. Cnidocytes hold tiny harpoon-like objects called nematocysts. These stingers can sink into another sea creature—or into human skin—faster than you can blink. 

Jellyfish are slow movers. They pulse through the water. Will food drift by? Or will the jellyfish run into a hungry shark? It doesn’t know. But its millions of sting cells wait, ready to zap. 

Some jellyfish are as tiny as a pencil tip. Others measure eight feet across. Some have tentacles as long as 100 feet! So even if you don’t see a jellyfish’s body, its tentacles could be lurking nearby. Some jellies carry venom more deadly than a cobra’s. These forbidding animals are called box jellyfish. They live in waters off Australia.

Move like a jellyfish: Open and close an umbrella slowly. A jellyfish’s “bell” part contracts. It pulls water in. When it opens again, water pushes out. This propels the jelly forward.

Been stung? Do this: Most jellyfish stings do not injure people seriously. But they hurt. And the stingers can keep shooting out venom even after they’ve separated from the jellyfish. Remove any stingers from your body. Pour (do not rub) vinegar on the sting.