Star Jelly Help Solve The Mystery

Help to Solve the Patterdale Blob Star Jelly Mystery

Two weeks on from the original Star Jelly by Ullswater blog and we’re seemingly no closer to finding out exactly what the mysterious Patterdale Blob actually is. The good news is that there have been new sightings as far afield as Huddersfield and Dartmoor, and more importantly we now have 2 samples sat in Tom’s freezer in the Patterdale Village Store. All we need now is someone to analyse them properly. So if you know any scientific gurus keen to help solve the mystery then please get in touch.

More Sightings and Samples

So what’s been happening since the original blog? Since the orignal sightings at the end of October we’ve had more appearing aroundSt Sunday Crag, Angle Tarn and Beda Fell, sightings on High Raise near Helvellyn, the sightings near Huddersfield on Marsden Moor, and a recent sighting on Dartmoor. I am very grateful to Marian Parsons, from Patterdale, who has provided some more photos and theories on the origins of the Blob, to Geoff Davidson from Keswick who saw it on High Raise, and then again on Dartmoor, and brought a sample all the way back to Patterdale. Most of all a huge thank you to Tom from the Patterdale Village Store who has collected another sample and whose perserverance in searching for an answer has kept the whole thing alive (as it were…)

Analysis So Far

The original sample collected by Tom was sent to Dr Hans Sluiman from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. Dr Sluiman is a botanist and has confirmed that it is not a plant or fungus. He is hoping that a zoologist might be able to do some DNA analysis on the sample. Well if there is one out there reading this then get in touch and we’ll send you a sample.

Theories So Far

There have been a range of theories put forward so far, none of which have been conclusively proven. As David quite rightly pointed out this phenomena has been puzzling people for hundreds of years, including the great Charles Hoy Fort (see David’s comment on the original post for a link to The Book of the Damned). Anyway here’s my take on the current top 3.

Deer Sperm

Pros	Cons	Further Thoughts
Found during the rutting season at least in the Lakes Looks a bit like sperm	No deer known to be on St Sunday, Helvellyn and High Raise Sheer size of some of the deposits (1 foot square) Why is it not seen every year and a common sight?	Possibly deer sperm landing in puddles causing chemical reaction due to the ambient temperatures Surely DNA analysis would prove/disprove

Bits of Frog “gelatinised oviduct tissue of frogs” regurgitated by predators

Pros

Cons

Further Thoughts

Has a frog spawn like consistency

Found elsewhere on fences and fence posts and the like (tying in with birds regurgitating it.

Size of the deposits (unless chemical reaction)
Again why is it not seen every year and why only on fells

Again possibly some chemical reaction caused by damp warm conditions
Again DNA analysis would prove one way or another

Meteor Shower Debris (or some alien life form)

Pros	Cons	Further Thoughts
The most romantic explanation Meteor Showers had occurred around the time of the sightings Historically this was the connection made	Current scientific analysis suggests some animal molecular structure to the jelly No one likes to believe in stuff falling out of space!	Still the most interesting until someone else comes up with a definitive answer!

So my current feeling is that it’s likely to be an animal in origin, and the swelling in size is caused by contact with water and the mild temperatures not normally experienced at this time of the year. All we need now is an expert to help solve the mystery once and for all! Please get in touch if you can help! Hurry up cos Tom needs the space back in his freezer!!