Jenni's Beach Adventure Journal
Thursday the 4th of May, 2023
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Woody Head, Northern NSW
These sea hares look like brown blobs of jelly and are sort of slug-like and look a bit like a snail! But what actually are they?
In actual fact sea hares are quite common and often wash up on the beach. They can camouflage really well from predators but do have a purple haze dye that they release if they are attacked which gives them a cover to escape! They also have a toxic slime so DON'T TOUCH THEM!
Sea hares are named after their large tentacles that sort of resemble the ears of hares...of course haha! They are similar to a snail but have an internal shell instead and use their wing-like features for swimming.
Journal Photo 1
Here is my photo of the sea hare that I found on a rocky ledge near the ocean. Its such a strange looking creature that I couldn't figure out which end was the head until it started moving!
It really does blend into the background. They live in rock pools and sea grass beds so they can graze on algae. This little one was heading back towards the ocean.
Check out more about this cute toxic gastropod that can swim!
