While wandering a Puget Sound beach have you ever found a very large, orange sea star with not five arms but fifteen, twenty, or more? Do you know what that amazing animal was? Most likely — the giant Sunflower Star.

Sunflower Stars begin life with five arms, just as many other sea stars. But as they get older, Sunflower Stars grow many more. These are among the largest sea stars in the world and can be over 3 feet across. A big Sunflower Star can have 24 arms with 15,000 little tube feet beneath.

What do Sunflower Stars do with all these arms and tube feet? They move fast! They're probably the speediest sea stars in the world, racing up to 4 feet a minute along the sand and gravel hunting food.

Sunflower Stars are aggressive and will eat almost anything they can get their "arms" on. Sea urchins, clams, crabs, snails, sea cucumbers, even other sea stars are their prey. This star's quite flexible and can open wide to swallow its food whole.

Gulls and other birds sometimes attack Sunflower Stars on the beach. To protect themselves the stars release an arm — and later re-grow it. Sea stars can live a long time — 10 years or more for the Sunflower Star — time enough to grow those 24 arms.

You can help protect this amazing creature by not detaching it from rocks and damaging its arms or tube feet. The Sunflower Star is part of the fantastic diversity of life in Puget Sound which depends on clean water. Limiting use of chemicals around your home and yard will help Puget Sound's creatures survive.