Jellyfish in Iowa? Teen’s Fishing Expedition Yields Unbelievable Discovery

One Iowa teen had no clue that when he went fishing for bass, he'd end up pulling in something completely unexpected.

Oscar Schiferl was fishing at Russell Wildlife Area in Mahaska County over the weekend when he caught a whole batch of freshwater jellyfish.

The young fisherman is a freshman at Oskaloosa High School, according to reports.

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Schiferl saw them swimming around in the water and tried pointing them out to his father who didn't believe him.

He caught one of the creatures to show his dad he was right, and ended up catching twenty jellyfish. His dad only let him keep two of them though.

Take a look at this teen's find down below!

This wasn't the first sighting of a jellyfish in the Hawkeye State this week!

According to reports, there was another jellyfish spotted at a pond near Lake Panorama by West Des Moines.

What the teen fisherman pulled in were peach blossom jellyfish. These are the only known species of freshwater jellyfish. They originated in the Yangtze River in China, but they started showing up in North America freshwater systems in the 1900s, according to reports.

The peach blossom jellyfish are harmless to humans and can be anywhere between 5 to 25 millimeters in diameter. They could be as tiny as a pencil top eraser!

Why Are They Popping Up Here In Iowa?

While there is no definite reason that freshwater jellyfish are showing up in the Hawkeye State, experts have some ideas.

Officials from the Department of Natural Resources believe that these creatures arrival is tied to contaminated water, illegal dumping of people's personal aquariums, or possibly birds migrating through the area.

Have you ever seen a freshwater jellyfish in Iowa? Let us know!

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