What is fairy shrimp? Burning Man flesh-eating parasite claim explored as wild conspiracy theories swirl

The Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock City for this year has come to a halt following severe rainstorms and consequent flash floods last Friday. Originally, the event was supposed to happen from August 27 to September 4, but was canceled on September 1, due to deteriorating weather conditions in the area. The situation left over 73,000 attendees stranded overnight, with many trying to hike out of the muddy zone on foot.

In the wake of this, several conspiracy theories have started circulating on the internet. For instance, many social media users reported that a mysterious viral disease similar to Ebola affected the festival-goers and resulted in boils, vomiting, and coughing out coagulated blood. Others claimed that FEMA was on the ground and declared it as a national disaster/emergency.

While none of these have proven to be true so far, another claim has surfaced on the internet, stating that an alleged flesh-eating parasite named fairy shrimp, has hatched in large numbers and will soon attack the humans. While no evidence supporting this has been cited yet, netizens have been speculating the worst.

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Fairy shrimps, if present in the Burning Man Festival venue, are not active

A netizen talks about fairy shrimp but doubts whether they're predatory or not. (Image via X/dvn)

According to the official website of the New World Encyclopaedia, a fairy shrimp is a small freshwater crustacean belonging to the class of “Branchiopoda” and the order “Anostrasca.” It is characterized by a transparent and elongated body, paired with compound eyes and multiple appendages, and is mostly popular in the animal world for swimming on its back. It is alternatively called brine shrimp.

Fairy shrimp’s length varies between two centimeters and 10 centimeters and offers various ecological, commercial, and nutritional values, such as acting as food for large fishes and birds. In fact, this kind of shrimp is often collected and processed and sold as common fish food for aquariums, and to feed fish larvae in industrial aquaculture.

Not only that, but many people also feed on fairy shrimps, such as the communities living around Libya’s Fezzan Desert or in northeastern Thailand, both of which use it as their key source of animal protein.

What’s interesting is that fairy shrimp mostly live in freshwater lakes, and rarely in saltwater lakes, but never in oceans or seas, and are found in all continents, including the polar areas. In fact, fairy shrimps are fairly common in the western part of the USA, such as California and Nevada, where more than five of its endangered species currently thrive.

However, the most innovative fact about fairy shrimp is that they do not hatch unless absolutely necessary and live in encased embryos called cysts for most of their lifetime.

They can survive in a dehydrated and inactive state for ages and only hatch when it rains. But normal rain does not help in the process. Instead, rain accompanied by snow, which creates a freezing temperature, leads to the hatching of fairy shrimp.

This means that the rainstorms in Black Rock City aren’t enough to draw out fairy shrimps from their embryotic and dormant state. Not only that, but their characterization as flesh-eating parasites is also false.

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Netizens have wild reactions to fairy shrimp hatching claim in Burning Man Festival venue

Along with other conspiracy theories, the internet is now stirred up about fairy shrimps hatching in Black Rock City near the Burning Man Festival venue, following severe rain, storm, and flash flood.

While the chances of that happening are close to negligible, that hasn’t stopped netizens from spinning wild and hilarious claims. Here are some of them:

A netizen feels convinced that fairy shrimps will hatch in Burning Man ground. (Image via X/NEWEND_DOG ACTUAL)

A netizen worries about both the endangered fairy shrimps and the people stranded in Black Rock City. (Image via X/Waylon is god Amen)

While no real evidence to support the claims of Ebola, FEMA’s presence in Burning Man Festival ground, or fairy shrimps hatching have emerged so far, there are certain potential health risks for people stranded in Black Rock City.

For instance, a doctor who previously attended the festival told Insider that rainstorms and flash floods in the area can bring forth hypothermia, stomach bugs, and other infectious food and water-borne diseases like food poisoning and cholera which can impact people stranded in the venue.

Meanwhile, people from the Burning Man site have reported filthy, flooded, and muddy conditions, through which vehicles cannot move, and port-a-potties do not work. In fact, celebrities like Chris Rock, Diplo, and Neal Katyal who were attending the festival had to hike out on foot for miles in groups, before reaching drier roads.

Interestingly, the organizers of the Burning Man Festival, called the Burning Man Project, refused help from the National Guard as reported by NBC News, and stated to the news outlet that they were themselves equipped to handle the crisis.

They have also asked people to remain inside campsites and shelters, to stay warm, and to share and conserve food, water, and fuel before they can be evacuated via mobile cell service trailers and buses that have been deployed.