Man films himself licking bluebottle jellyfish for TikTok

A TikTok user has shared video of himself picking up and licking what he thinks is a harmless jellyfish, but was actually much more dangerous.

A man has filmed himself holding and licking a “slimy” creature on a beach – unaware it could kill him.

The TikTok user was completely clueless the jellyfish-like animal was actually a potentially deadly bluebottle, also known as a Portuguese or Pacific man o’ war, or “floating terror”.

The man, who goes by the name Alexa Reed on TikTok, shared the clip of him handling the creature, which had washed up on a shore, and poking and prodding it.

“Look guys, a jellyfish is still here,” he says in the video.

He goes on to touch it with his finger, saying: “Oh my gosh it’s so cold and so slimy, I’m going to pick it up.”

He pinches it between his fingers and adds: “Yep, it’s a jellyfish, look how big it is.

“And it’s still moving, oh my god, I’m going to lick it.”

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Picture: alexa_reed2

Picture: alexa_reed2

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The video ends with him sticking his tongue out ready to touch it.

As Australians are well aware bluebottles are best avoided due to their nasty stings – there are between 10,000 and 30,000 stings recorded in Australia each year.

While there have been no fatalities linked to bluebottle stings here, there have been several confirmed fatalities in the northern hemisphere.

TikTok users quickly let Alexa know he had made a big mistake.

One, named mndiaye_97 on the popular video-sharing app, warned others not to copy his behaviour.

“This is why women live longer than men, sh*t like this,” they said.

“That is not a jellyfish, it’s a Portuguese man O’ war, also known as the bluebottle, also known as the floating terror.

Picture: alexa_reed2

Picture: alexa_reed2

“It’s a species of siphonophore armed with millions of explosive stinging cells powerful enough to make Nemo an orphan and occasionally turn a person into past tense.

“This man O’ war is responsible for up to 10,000 stings a year in Australia alone and the venom can cause excruciating pain for up to three days, leaving a nasty, whip-like welt as a souvenir.

“But honestly, you’re lucky if that’s all you get because the venom can trigger an allergic-like reaction that results in throat-swelling, heart issues and difficulty breathing, as you suffocate, possibly to death.

“And fun fact, not only can they write your obituary days, even tentacles that have been separated from its body contain enough venom to incapacitate you.

Bluebottles inundated beaches in NSW over the summer. Picture: Jeremy Piper/NCA NewsWire

“Getting stung by a man O’ war is nowhere near a death sentence. Most of the time if treated quickly, it’s very survivable.

“But even though being put in a coffin by one is rare, the agonising pain that comes with it might make you wish it wasn’t.”

Another simply said: “Bruh that ain’t a jellyfish that’s a man o’war.”

And one user commented: “Noooooo that’s the deadliest jellyfish.”

The clip has racked up almost 600,000 likes and 18,000 comments.

Man o’war are found all over the world, including in the UK.

The creatures swamped beaches along the NSW coast over summer, swept in by north-easterly winds.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission