Ratan Kumar Pradhan, OP
Bhubaneswar: Its bright blue underbelly on a slippery silvery-grey back is quite inviting. But looks can be deceptive. Any attempt to touch the blue dragon, a tiny insect-like sea slug seen crowding the beaches at Puri, Astaranga and Konark these days, may leave the curious onlooker with an unpleasant experience. Because, its sting can cause a host of emergencies – from nausea, pain, vomiting, and acute allergic contact dermatitis to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Though the phenomenon of a large number of these deep-sea residents sweeping to the coasts in Puri district has generated curiosity among locals, climatologists have attributed it to a fallout of a possible rise in sea surface temperature accentuated by global warming and climate change.
Significantly, the development comes barely five days after scores of blue button jellyfish were spotted near the shoreline in Puri. Blue dragon, or ‘glaucus atlanticus’ – as it is called by zoologists- is a type of mollusc or sea slug that is normally found on the surface of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
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Climate activist and UN-India YuWaah Advocate 2022-24 Lead, Soumya Ranjan Biswal, said, “Scores of blue dragons are floating ashore near Astaranga and Konark beaches along Puri coast. This is happening because of rising sea surface temperature due to climate change, posing a challenge to all of us.”
Biswal also warned of staying away from the beautiful but potentially painful creature. A section of wildlife activists believe that appearance of blue dragons on Puri coast is a very recent development which could be on account of climate change.
Biju Patnaik Wildlife Award winner Bichitranand Biswal said, “For the first time in 31 years of my fieldwork, I saw blue dragons at Devi River mouth in Astaranga last year. This year too summer marked their arrival on Puri coast. This is due to rising ocean temperatures which is harming marine life.”
He said the phenomenon is a matter of serious concern. “Climate change is disrupting the ocean’s balance, which is critical for humans since most of Earth is water.”