Stranger in our tidepool (another tidepool critter)

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According to our local scientists at the marine science center the creature you see above, that brown thing that looks like a leaf, is a sea hare. It is a type of slug and it does not belong in Oregon waters. These are common down around San Diego, California, and I understand they are seen up in Washington state as well. Anyway, I was exploring a tidepool below the Cape Perpetua (central Oregon coast) visitor center a couple of years back and spotted this beauty. You cannot tell it's size by the photo, but it was about five inches long and nearly four tall. I touched it, thinking it was a strange leaf or type of seaweed. But no, there was almost no substance to it, and it certainly had no rigidity to it. I found two more of them before we decided to call it a day and go up to the visitor center. I showed the photo to the rangers there, no one had ever seen one and they could not identify it. It was my daughter, who lives in California, who set me on the right track. The sea slug has an interesting method of self-defense. Like an octopus, it can eject ink. In this case, it is usually purple in color but can vary depending on what algae they are eating. According to my research, they have to eat red algae to be able to produce the ink though. Whatever -- it did not react badly to my touching it. I understand the worst that would have happened is it would have stained my hands purple. The ink is not poisonous to humans but either the ink or the mucus on the sides of the slug may make a dog very ill. I was happy to have seen the critter. I had never seen them before. Oh, and they can get quite large. The biggest species can get up to 31 inches long (75 cm) and weigh in at 31 pounds (14 kg). And they are edible.