On May 8, they will finally be able to stop counting.
After nearly four years of repairs, the center is reopening its doors to the public with new exhibits Saturday for the first time since Hurricane Harvey. It feels great, said Sally Palmer, the communications coordinator for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. It just feels nice to have this completed and be back in the community.
The center suffered damage from Hurricane Harvey and was forced to build new exhibits after completing repairs to the walls, roof, floors and windows.
When it came time to assess the damage, the staff thought it was reasonable to question the future of the center.
Jennifer Baltazar told KSAT she was walking along the beach near Corpus Christi when something stung her son.
“That’s when we noticed it because I went looking for what could’ve stung him,” Baltazar told the news outlet. “We were super surprised because we’ve never seen anything like that on the beach.”
Baltazar says her family thought it was a fish eyeball.
The “creepy eyeball-looking creatures” initially stumped Mustang Island State Park officials. Farther south along the barrier island, Padre Island National Seashore received reports of similar “strange” creatures washing ashore, too.
The national seashore says the creatures are a siphonophore in the Rhizophysidae family.
National Park Service | Special to the Weatherford Democrat
The Kempâs Ridley sea turtle is the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world.
National Park Service | Special to the Weatherford Democrat
With sea turtle nesting season beginning along the Texas coast in early April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is urging everyone using Texas beaches to do their part to help detect and protect threatened and endangered sea turtles on the beach. This includes the Kempâs Ridley sea turtle, which is the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world, as well as the threatened loggerhead and green sea turtles.Â
Mysterious Eyeball-Looking Creatures Wash Ashore in Texas
On 4/9/21 at 4:43 PM EDT
Jennifer Baltazar was walking on the beach with her son when he began to feel a stinging sensation in his foot.
According to MySA.com, the two of them retraced their steps to find what he stepped on and discovered a strange creature that looked almost like an eyeball.
After taking pictures of the gelatinous, jellyfish-like blobs, which had washed ashore at Mustang Island State Park, Baltazar reportedly sent the photos to Jace Tunnell of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.
Tunnell told MySA.com that while he had never seen those particular organisms before, after some research, he was able to identify them as Rhizophysa eysenhardti. The species is closely related to Portuguese man o war, a stinging siphonophorae that resembles a jellyfish.
1of6
Something rare and creepy recently washed ashore on Mustang Island, and it s best to stay away from them.Jennifer BaltazarShow MoreShow Less
2of6
On March 29, Jennifer Baltazar didn t notice the eyeball-looking creatures scattered on the shore until her son starting to feel pain in his foot.Jennifer BaltazarShow MoreShow Less
3of6
4of6
When Baltazar traced back their steps to see what he could have stepped on, she saw the jellyfish-like species.Jennifer BaltazarShow MoreShow Less
5of6
She took pictures and sent them to Mission Aransas reserve director Jace Tunnell at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, who told MySA.com he s never seen before. After some research, the institute identified them as Rhizophysa eysenhardti – a creature related to Portuguese man-of-war.Jennifer BaltazarShow MoreShow Less