I don't know anything about coral, but I do know something about plants. Many botanical gardens have similar disclaimers about touching plants, but invariably w

I don't know anything about coral, but I do know something about plants. Many botanical gardens have similar disclaimers about touching plants, but invariably what they actually mean is "Touching is fine, but some dumbass is going to take it too far and kill something, so we'll say no touching just to ensure it doesn't get to that point". Of course the vast majority of plants are safe to touch for you and the plant, and even those that are delicate or dangerous in some way can be safely touched by experts or researchers. Maybe coral is similar to this, maybe not, but by analogy I don't see a problem in offering the public a more conservative version of safe guidance.