Today I learned that on beaches that are popular tourist spots the local hermit crabs are suffering a housing crisis because tourists keep taking home so many seashells as souvenirs that the hermit crabs have fewer homes to move into and they've resorted to living in cans and bottles that the tourists leave as litter :(
Stuff like this always hurts to hear because this is just such a human thing to do. I grew up by the sea and, apart from 4yrs at Uni, I lived there for 25yrs, and stories about humans being careless and selfish with the sea and the beaches always make me sad. During lockdown our beaches here in the UK, particularly on the South Coast were treated appallingly by people who left so much rubbish and debris, and were just selfish and thoughtless to the locals and the wildlife.
But, I do love the ingenuity of life - hermit crabs being like... well, I guess I’ll adapt and live in this shiny thing now?
