It seems that with every waking moment, humans try to out-do themselves in terms of the stupidest things that they can possibly do. For some people, that means doing the "Tide Pod Challenge" and eating laundry detergent that is definitely not meant to be eaten. For others - *ahem, Logan Paul* - it means going into the Japanese 'suicide forest' and taking a video of a dead man while laughing at him and uploading it to YouTube for your millions of teenage subscribers. However, for some tourists in Chile, it means climbing onto the carcass of a beached blue whale in order to take a selfie.
I, for one, hate selfies. If I had it my way, they would be banned. Nothing annoys me more than when I'm at a tourist location like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona or even The Shard in London and I'm surrounded by folks raising their arms, or sticks, in the air to take a snap of themselves. Not only is the photo likely to be absolute trash, seeing as half of it is taken up by your head, they're also just incredibly annoying and fill up my timeline on social media.
However, while my opinion on selfies may be purely a personal preference, there can be no denying that the latest example of selfie-taking shows a complete disregard and lack of respect for nature. After a blue whale washed up on the shore of Punta Delgada, locals decided to carve messages into its flesh and sat on top of it in order to get a selfie with the dead animal. Taking to his Twitter account to convey his dismay at the actions of the local people, Rodrigo Saavedra said:
"A blue whale of 21 m Varo in the sector of Punta Delgada, 117 kms from Punta Arenas, the cetacean was scratched with dedications, deep cuts in his skin and two women photographing on top of his body."
Gabriela Garrido, a researcher at the Museum of Natural History Rio Seco, said that she couldn't believe what was going on at the beach, with her saying up to 50 people were surrounding and climbing on the dead mammal.
“I was shocked to see this situation of lack of control,” she said. “I had a lot of anger, a lot of impotence.” She continued, “It is very painful to understand how a person is able to perform such an act.”
Patricio Diaz, a regional director of the National Fishing Service of Chile in Magallanes, said: “It seems to me a sign of ignorance and lack of respect for the marine fauna, especially for an animal as emblematic as the blue whale.”
According to Anelio Aguayo, a veterinarian and expert in marine mammals, the most likely cause of death of the whale was starvation, with seaweed being found in its stomach. According to Aguayo, this is a sign of the whale seeking a desperate substitute for its normal plankton.
In all seriousness, why can't humans just need nature alone? If you see a dead blue whale on the beach, report it to the authorities rather than start climbing on top of it to carve messages and take selfies. Also, who wants a selfie with a dead whale? Weirdos.
