Like most public holidays, Chinese New Year saw many families spending time at recreational spots like Changi Beach.
While being up close with wildlife is a good thing, some people may have taken it too far.
On Wednesday (2 Feb), Science and Nature channel Just Keep Thinking shared their experience educating the public regarding the harms of collecting sea creatures at the beach.
Though they managed to convince many people to release the creatures, they hope that their efforts will help raise greater awareness for the future.
On Monday (1 Feb), Just Keep Thinking visited Changi Beach and were surprised to find large crowds there.
Many visitors were apparently digging up sea creatures and placing them in buckets.
Realising the scale of what was going on, the crew decided to approach visitors and ask them to release the creatures back to the wild. Their main line of reasoning was that the vulnerable animals would not be able to survive outside of their natural habitats.
Some families, for instance, dug up sea urchins which require seawater to survive. The crew’s quick thinking thankfully meant that they managed to return the creatures to sea.
Others opted to release the animals themselves after they were kindly informed by the crew.
Since there were so many beachgoers that day, the crew admittedly found it very difficult to reach out to everyone.
The incident evidently proved that much more needs to be done to educate the public to respect our wildlife. Kudos to Just Keep Thinking for playing their part.
Interacting with wildlife in a natural setting is good, but one should not cross any boundaries by taking these vulnerable creatures out of their habitats.
Like the rest of us, they’re struggling to survive too, and it would be cruel to reduce their chances through such an inconsiderate act.
Now that you know of the consequences, do educate others around you as small actions can go a long way in preserving our local wildlife.
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Featured image adapted from Just Keep Thinking on YouTube.
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