Aussies have copped a stern warning after a beachgoer’s “stupid” stunt was caught on camera over the weekend. The “disappointing” move has since made waves online, triggering backlash and prompting pleas from licensed professionals for people to do better.
The saga kicked off at around 6am on Saturday when a woman going for a walk along Dicky Beach, on the Sunshine Coast, came across an elegant sea snake. It was alive and moving around, but clearly in distress.
“It had no visible injuries but was covered in barnacles, which can be detrimental to them,” snake catcher Summer Woolston, who answered the concerned woman’s phone call, explained to Yahoo News Australia.
Within a few minutes, she had organised for Justin — also a member of the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 team — to head over and help the very venomous species.
However, in a concerning turn of events, as the woman waited patiently for him to arrive, another man suddenly approached her and stated “he was going to chuck it back in the water”.
The beachgoer reportedly told the woman that’s what the snake catcher “was going to do anyway”.
Despite her protests, there was not much that could be done to stop him, Summer said.
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‘Wannabe hero’s’ dangerous sea snake stunt triggers criticism
Footage posted online shows the man grab the creature by the tail and hold it at an arm’s length as he struts toward the ocean.
Because sea snakes only beach themselves when they are “sick, injured, or exhausted”, tossing it back into the water is the last thing any professional would have done, Summer told Yahoo.
“It would make the snake’s illness worse, possibly causing it to die faster. It would have to beach itself again. He also would have injured the snake with the way he held it,” she said, pointing to potentially detached vertebrae.
“We discourage people from doing this because not only does it severely harm the snake and prevent it from getting medical treatment, it also endangers the person as sea snakes are highly venomous.”
The reckless move also put children swimming nearby at risk.
Things didn’t get much better when Justin arrived at the beach and tried to speak with the man, who some locals have labelled a “wannabe hero”.
“Justin tried to explain why what the man did was wrong and the problems it had caused, and the man refused to listen or understand,” Summer said.
Placing the sea snake back in the water could have potentially endangered children that were swimming nearby at the time. Source: Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7
Snake catchers refuse to let ‘disappointing’ incident slide
The beachgoer’s frustrating reaction has prompted the team of snake catchers to warn others against pulling the same stunt.
“If we just let incidents like this ‘slide under the rug’ it will keep happening,” Stuart McKenzie, founder of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, commented online.
“We are posting this publicly, so that people who see this post know that they should never attempt to pick up a sea snake like this and put it back in the water. Soft education isn’t always the best way!”
Summer told Yahoo that the video clip was not shared to shame the beachgoer, but to spread awareness about sea snake safety, and talk about struggles of the job.
“This incident is disappointing because it wastes our valuable volunteered time, as well as causing more harm to a native animal,” she said.
“It’s also frustrating when we give people clear instructions over and over again and they do not follow them.”
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