‘Never do this’: Photo of man helping stranded whale on K’gari sparks debate

A man’s seemingly innocent photo uploaded to a popular social media page has sparked debate, with some claiming you should “never do this”.

Peter Benzie posted to the K’gari four-wheel driving page on Thursday with the caption “helping to push baby whale back into the ocean, hopefully it makes it”.

A photo of a man pushing a whale calf back into the ocean has sparked a reaction on social media.

Peter Benzie posted to the K’gari four-wheel driving Facebook page on Thursday with the caption “helping to push baby whale back into the ocean, hopefully it makes it”.

The responses on the post were split, with some applauding Mr Benzie for his actions and others advising against it.

“Never do this,” Lisa Jane Hills wrote.

“This mammal will die if not refloated in the correct way.”

Gabrielle Sunderland said the sad reality was the calf would most likely die anyway.

“They beach themselves when they’re sick,” she said.

Jason Robert said the traditional owners of the island should be considered.

“Please be aware of the cultural significance to the Butchulla people,” he wrote.

Peter Benzie posted to the K’gari four-wheel driving page on Thursday with the caption “helping to push baby whale back into the ocean, hopefully it makes it”.

“They have a spiritual connection to the whales on K’gari and should be consulted.”

Another person said regardless of what anyone said, it was good of Mr Benzie to help the whale.

“I hope the unfortunate calf makes it,” he wrote.

A spokesman from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said there were no whale strandings reported on K’gari.

He said the QWildlife app allowed marine strandings across the state to be reported in real time to the department.

The app allows people to report crocodile sightings and koala sightings to the department, and has been expanded to include marine strandings.

People can report stranding incidents along Queensland’s vast coastline and include the time and date along with photographs of stranded marine animals, such as turtles, sharks and marine mammals.

This citizen science information will help DETSI to better understand marine strandings across the state and will ensure the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and local wildlife carer groups can be activated quickly to respond to stranded marine life, the spokesman said.

QPWS Assistant Director-General Andrew Buckley said marine animals strand for several reasons, including illness or disease, predation and human intervention such as boat strike or entanglement in fishing equipment.

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