{"id":373823,"date":"2025-08-26T02:20:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/373823\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T02:20:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:20:39","slug":"canarian-weekly-dangerous-blue-dragon-forces-beach-closure-in-lanzarote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/373823\/","title":{"rendered":"Canarian Weekly &#8211; Dangerous \u2018blue dragon\u2019 forces beach closure in Lanzarote"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/banners\/tracker\/355\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/img\/media\/banners\/355\/cjiq34yz4khayxghp6pp.webp\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"Weddings In Tenerife\" title=\"Weddings In Tenerife\" width=\"728\" height=\"180\"\/><\/a>    <\/p>\n<ul class=\"list-wrap\">\n<li>23-08-2025<\/li>\n<li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/category\/lanzarote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lanzarote<\/a><\/li>\n<li> Canarian Weekly<\/li>\n<li> Photo Credit: DA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>                                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/posts\/Dangerous-blue-dragon-forces-beach-closure-in-Lanzarote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"Dangerous \u2018blue dragon\u2019 forces beach closure in Lanzarote\" title=\"Dangerous \u2018blue dragon\u2019 forces beach closure in Lanzarote\" size=\"medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/img\/media\/articles\/29450\/c5c5eef6e6e96cf4-900.webp\"\/><\/a>                            <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/banners\/tracker\/405\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/img\/media\/banners\/405\/kualalumpur-728-180.webp\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"kualalumpur Stores\" title=\"kualalumpur Stores\" width=\"728\" height=\"180\"\/><\/a>    <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>La Canter\u00eda beach in \u00d3rzola, Lanzarote, was temporarily closed this week after lifeguards and bathers reported sightings of several blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus), a striking but highly dangerous species of sea creature.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Although tiny and beautiful with their metallic blue and silver colours, these creatures are far from harmless. Experts warn that touching them, even if they appear dead on the sand, can cause serious health problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The blue dragon feeds on venomous jellyfish, such as the Portuguese man o\u2019 war, and stores their toxins in its own body. This means that a single sting can cause severe pain, skin irritation, vomiting, fever, and, in some cases, more serious allergic reactions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">This is not the first time the species has been spotted in the Canary Islands. In recent weeks, conditions at sea \u2013 including winds and currents \u2013 have carried them onto various parts of the Lanzarote coastline. They were also recently reported in El M\u00e9dano and Leocadio Machado beaches in Tenerife, prompting warnings from local authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Authorities strongly advise the public not to touch these creatures under any circumstances, whether in the water or stranded on the shore. Instead, beachgoers should notify lifeguards or emergency services so that the animals can be safely removed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Safety advice if you encounter a blue dragon<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-top: 0cm;\" type=\"disc\">&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;\">Do not touch it, even if it looks dead or washed up.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;\">Alert lifeguards or call 112 (the emergency number in Spain and the Canary Islands).<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;\">If stung:<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-top: 0cm;\" type=\"circle\">&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt;\">Rinse the affected area with seawater (not fresh water, vinegar, or alcohol, which can worsen the sting).<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt;\">Carefully remove any tentacle fragments with a stick or gloves, never with bare hands.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt;\">Apply a cold pack (wrapped in cloth) to reduce pain and swelling.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt;\">Seek medical attention immediately, especially if you experience breathing difficulties, dizziness, or a severe allergic reaction.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/banners\/tracker\/361\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/img\/media\/banners\/361\/sakgqcxbd0ggzocgz4au.webp\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"Clinica Dental Tenerife Sur\" title=\"Clinica Dental Tenerife Sur\" width=\"728\" height=\"180\"\/><\/a>    <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/banners\/tracker\/423\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canarianweekly.com\/img\/media\/banners\/423\/estrellas-728.webp\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"Estrellas Theatre School\" title=\"Estrellas Theatre School\" width=\"728\" height=\"180\"\/><\/a>    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"23-08-2025 Lanzarote Canarian Weekly Photo Credit: DA La Canter\u00eda beach in \u00d3rzola, Lanzarote, was temporarily closed this week&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[1425,128191,72891,26700,70,16,15,1717],"class_list":{"0":"post-373823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-beach","9":"tag-blue-dragon","10":"tag-jellyfish","11":"tag-lanzarote","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115092680344185463","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}