Like a grenade painted with a cartoon frown, the lesser weever fish reclines with quiet malice just below the low-water mark on sandy, muddy or light shingle shores.
Half-buried in seabed sediment, with a pretty golden body and a preposterously sour expression, it is of little interest to the crowds sunbathing and reading on the beach - until an unfortunate paddler makes the mistake of stepping on one. To tread on a weever fish is to taunt a tiger: inch-long dorsal spines stab the offender's foot, which swells rapidly like a balloon. Dunking the limb in extremely hot water helps break down the toxins, but the swelling can last for days. Distrust of the seashore might linger longer.
Denne historien er fra September 2024-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra September 2024-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians
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