“Thousands of starfish have been washed up on a Devon beach after becoming exhausted while spawning. Thousands of dead starfish covered a pebble beach over a mile-long stretch. It is thought they drifted into shallow waters to feed on mussels and other shellfish but were brought ashore.
The starfish were strewn along the beach at Budleigh Salterton, East Devon. The Environment Agency said it appeared to be a natural occurrence and not caused by pollution. A line of the creatures stretched for more than a mile across the pebbles at Budleigh Salterton.
One expert said the process of reproduction had left the starfish “tired out” and they had been left “susceptible” to tides and the wind. Similar events happen once or twice a year in the UK, but it is the first time for Budleigh Salterton.”
Read more at The Telegraph (thanks, KirstyJ)
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I assume a small boy can currently be found there throwing starfish back in while making somewhat trite philosophical comments….
I am reminded of the story that I remember from Benjamin Zander’s “Art of Possibility” I paraphrase:
A man is walks along a beach and looking down sees a girl doing some sort of strange dance. He gets closer to investigate. It transpires that the beach is covered in starfish, and what she is doing is bending down an throwing them into the sea, one at a time.
“What are you doing?” he says, “There are thousands, you can’t possibly make a difference”.
She looks at him with a starfish in her hand, and as she throws it she says, “I’ve made a difference to this one.”
Good find steve and poor little star fish. I need a job!