People visiting Seaside, Oregon, may be in for a surprise when heading to the shore.
Thousands ofsea cucumbershave washed ashore, covering over two miles of beach, The Associated Press reported.
Seaside Aquarium assistant manager Tiffany Boothe said the creatures normally burrow into the sand on the low tideline.
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"They are literally littering the tideline," Boothe told AP.
They’re about a half-inch (1.3 centimeter) long, though they can grow to about 6 inches (15 centimeters), AP noted.
The ones in Oregon are stretching to about half an inch right now.
Boothe said that she had not seen this many sea cucumbers in a few years, and it was due to surf and tide conditions coinciding.
The translucentpink clear creaturescannot return to their habitat on their own — so they will most likely dry up and die.
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Sea cucumbers get their name from their cucumber-shaped bodies and use clusters of tiny, tentacle-like tube feet tocrawl along the ocean floorand capture food, according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
The creatures are scavengersfeeding on the seafloorand plankton as well as algae and waste particles.
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They can live up to 5 to 10 years and are asexual, according to NWF.
Fish, crabs, and turtlesare all predators of sea cucumbers, according to the U.K. Natural History Museum.
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The Associated Press contributed reporting.
