Our Just flip 'em! program is designed to bring attention to the hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) who die each year from stranding (stuck upside down) during their yearly spawning ritual and to encourage individuals, through a simple act of compassion, to take the time to assist and appreciate these remarkable creatures, who will not survive public indifference.
The idea is simple: when you see a horseshoe crab that is stranded upside down on the beach, just flip them over. It's important not to flip them by their tail, however. Even though it looks scary, the tail is very delicate and can be easily damaged. The best way to turn them over is by the edge of their shell. No need to be cautious; the horseshoe crab doesn't bite or sting and it's claws are very gentle and won't hurt you.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Melphistopheles.
Waves I guess?
Undoing extinction = fail.
99% of all species are extinct.
The good news is there are new species emerging, mostly in the Rainforests.
Hmm.
And while many species have and will continue to go extinct, there are plenty of success stories out there where humans have taken a dying species and revitalized it. Just look at the Bald Eagle, and the American Bison.
So if you see someone drowning at the beach, you walk by saying "the beauty of natural selection at work"?
The only crabs I see here, far away from the ocean, are the ones in the grocery store.
Sometimes the horseshoe crabs can right themselves, many times not. Beachcombers typically pour sand on them, and once some Boyscouts and fishermen were using them for target practice with knives.
i'll probably get one inked onto my torso one of these days.
OTOH, I try to be realistic about it. A dead crab is something else's meal, and seagulls and other beach critters have gotta eat too, you know. All part of Nature's Circle Of Death.
I mean you're not helping! Why is that, Leon?
Neatorama = racist