WARNING: Pictures below are graphic (blood — lots of it).

These are a couple shots of the aftermath of 16-year old Australian Sam Kanizay spending about 30 minutes standing in the cold water of Brighton Bay, Melbourne, to soothe his aching feet and legs after football practice. What he didn’t realize is that the water numbed his legs enough to not notice the sea fleas (technically lysianassid amphipods — tiny crustaceans that are attracted to and feed on rotting meat) trying to eat his feet. Sick! Also if they really are attracted to rotting meat you need to wash your rank-ass feet, son.

“They occur in swarms, so they’ll swarm on a dead fish and eat it in next to no time,” Walker-Smith told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

She added that what happened with Sam was an “unlucky” occurrence and that other beachgoers shouldn’t be afraid of similar attacks.

“It’s possible [Sam] disturbed a feeding group, but they are generally not out there waiting to attack like piranhas,” she told the ABC. “The crustaceans would have swarmed off that piece of dead fish and onto his leg. He may have already had a cut, perhaps, and they were able to smell that wound or any chemicals that the wound was giving off.”

Well, I guess that’s just another reason to fill the oceans with concrete and never visit Australia. Not that I needed any more reasons. It’s just a solid reminder when I think it might be cool to see a cheetah in its natural habitat. “Cheetahs are from Africa, not Australia.” Nuke the continent, there’s nothing for us there.

Keep going for the bloody shots.

Source: Geekologie – WTF!: Flesh-Eating ‘Sea Bugs’ Try To Eat Teen’s Feet In Australia