Articles
Palau’s Famous Jellyfish Lake is Losing JellyfishJellyfish Lake,...
Reportage by Getty Images TumblrPalau’s Famous Jellyfish Lake is Losing Jellyfish
Jellyfish Lake, on Eil Malk Island in the archipelagic country of Palau, in the western Pacific, has long been on the bucket list for adventurous travelers. Its warm salty waters are home to the non-poisonous golden jellyfish, which swarm harmlessly around snorkeling tourists - tourists who help generate more than half of the country’s GDP. But a recent study by the Coral Reef Research Foundation estimated that the lake’s jellyfish population had declined from an average of eight million to 600,000 in March. Over the past few weeks, according to National Geographic, tourists have failed to find any adult jellyfish in the lake, leading some tour operators to cancel their trips.
Scientists aren’t sure why the jellies are disappearing, but Palau officials have blamed drought and warmer waters caused by El Niño. The effects of El Niño also caused the jellyfish population to crash in the 1990s, but it was able to regenerate from polyps - an early stage of the jellyfish life cycle - living on the lake’s floor. Scientists and tourists alike hope that will be the case again.
Reportage photographer Benjamin Lowy visited the lake last year on assignment for the New York Times. See more of his photos from jellyfish lake on Getty Images.
