A large number of sea cucumbers have washed up on Seaside Beach in Oregon. These sea creatures are soft, pink, and look like jelly. They usually live under the sand in the ocean, but this week, strong waves and a low tide pushed them onto the shore.
The beach was covered with sea cucumbers for over two miles. Normally, only a few appear on the beach, but this time there were thousands. These sea cucumbers are called Leptosynapta clarki. They are found from northern California to the Gulf of Alaska.
The sea cucumbers cannot get back to the water by themselves. They will dry out, but their bodies will feed small animals like beach hoppers and beach fleas. Birds do not eat sea cucumbers.
Experts say most of the sea cucumbers will disappear into the sand in a day or two. Seaside is about 80 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.
