Turtles Are Dying Because People Keep Taking Selfies With Them

Won’t somebody please think of the turtles?

Environmentalists are warning selfie-snappers to stop annoying female sea turtles coming to shore to have their babies. Crowds have been swarming the beaches of Ostional Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica, with people touching the majestically slow animals, standing on their nests, placing small children on their shells, and taking photos with flash, reports the Union of Workers of the Ministry of Environment and Energy. This is bad news because, according to ministry secretary Leonel Delgado, there were “so many people on the beach that turtles encountered with people and some were returned without specifying the nesting process.”

According to Carlos Hernandez, manager of the refuge, they are already taking measures to ensure that this situation does not happen again. To do this, they coordinate with security forces, the guides and the Association for Integrated Development of Ostional (ADIO). (Via La Nacion)

The next time you want a selfie with a turtle, hit up eBay, find a cardboard standee from when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was released, buy it, and pose to your heart’s delight. That way, the only thing you’re hurting is yourself, for paying money for this.

(Via La Nacion)

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