A turtle died with over 104 pieces of plastic in its intestine, thanks to humans’ remorseless behavior. The baby turtle was found on the shores of Florida beach, this incident is a grim reminder of what we are doing to our nature.
104 pieces of plastic found inside a baby turtle
A baby turtle that was found in Baco Raton Florida was lying lifeless after eating 104 pieces of tiny plastic. Emily Mirowski, a sea turtle rehabilitation assistant, examined the turtle before it died. She dismembered the turtle and found its stomach was full of plastic, varying from balloons to plastic bottle labels.
“It was weak and thin. I could just tell it was not doing great. Moreover, it was heartbreaking. But it’s something we’ve seen for several years and we’re just hoping people are seeing this image and probably it’s raising awareness,” Emily said.
A threat to aquatic life
We all know our earth is filled with nearly 70% of water which includes sea, lakes, rivers, etc. All these water bodies have a key role to play for providing a place to live for aquatic animals. Sadly, careless human activities have altered the oceanic ecosystem. Dumping sewage in the ocean is considered as the easiest way to get rid of garbage produced by humans. A total of 250 million tonnes of trash are dumped in a sea every year which causes a threat to aquatic life.
Not only dumping of the garbage; Oil Spills, Land Runoff, Ocean Mining, and other pollution based activities are killing millions of aquatic animals every year. “The issue is that with all the plastic in the oceans, that’s where it sticks. All the microplastics stick to the seaweed, and it looks like food to the baby turtles,” said Emily.
She believes that people should quit buying and using plastic in day to day life. “We have to decrease plastic use as much as possible. Not just recycling, but excluding plastic out of daily use. Every piece of plastic that’s ever been made is still out there. it never goes away, it just breaks down to smaller pieces,” she said.
