Skin-breathing sea cucumbers wash up on a coastal Oregon beach

Thousands of sea cucumbers have washed ashore in the coastal town of Seaside, Oregon, thanks to a combination of strong waves and low tides.

The partly translucent, pink gelatinous creatures are called sea cucumbers, which breathe through the skin.

They usually burrow in the sand along the low tide line and beyond.

But they were spread over more than two miles of Seaside Beach, Tiffany Booth, associate director of the Seaside Aquarium, said Tuesday.

“They are literally littering the tide line,” Booth said. They are about a half inch long but can grow to about 6 inches.

This phenomenon can occur when wave and tidal conditions coincide, which could mean several times a year or once in a few years.

Sometimes there are a few people scattered here and there on the beach but there were large groups on the beach during this latest episode.

Booth hadn’t seen this many people at the beach in two years.

Sea cucumbers are unable to return to their natural habitat on their own, so they will dry up and die, Booth said.

It will provide nutrients for beachhoppers, beach fleas and other invertebrates living along the tide line that will feed on them. Birds don’t eat them.

Whatever is left will likely dry quickly and blend in with the sand.

Booth suspects they’ll be gone by Wednesday or Thursday.

The scientific name of cucumber is Leptosynapta clarki. They live along the coast from Northern California to the Gulf of Alaska.

Seashore is located about 80 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.