Terrapin Deformed After Growing Up With Elastic Band Around Its Body

A terrapin has been found to have developed a 'corset' waist after growing up with an elastic band stuck around its body.

The tiny creature was discovered by street cleaners who stumbled across it close to a drain in the Chonburi province of eastern Thailand last weekend.

They were shocked by the turtle's bizarre hour-glass figure and noticed the cause of the unusual deformity was a tight elastic band around its body - which they quickly pulled off.

According to reports, it's believed the band had become stuck on the little guy when it was a baby and its body was forced to grow around it.

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The street cleaner who came across the turtle while sweeping up said it appeared to be in a healthy state - apart from the obvious deformity, that is.

He said: "The poor turtle must have been suffering like this since it was little. If we hadn't found it, I don't know what would have happened.

"There would be nobody to remove the rubber band."

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After removing the band from around the turtle, the street workers released it back into the bushes close to where it had been found.

But sadly, this is not the first incident of animals being affected by the rising level of plastic pollution.

Earlier this month, vets shared startling images of a dolphin and seal that died after becoming wrapped up in disused fishing nets.

James Barnett discovered the dolphin in 2017 after it washed ashore in Cornwall, however he decided to release the images now to raise awareness about the issue of plastic in our oceans. The seal was found in May this year entangled in up to 35kgs of nets.

SWNS

"We don't know how big a problem microplastic is yet. Microplastics is a totally unknown quantity," he said.

"We are not yet able to determine how badly it is impacting the animals' health. I think it is something further studies over the coming years will be able to say."

Microplastics have been widely documented throughout the natural world and even in our drinking water. Research has shown how plastic breaks down into tiny particles, which are then sucked up through the food chain and has been present in some of the seafood humans eat. There is no current evidence that microplastics are harmful for humans.

Mr Barnett continued: "It's definitely the worst case of animal entanglement I have seen in my career."

"We have not found much evidence of plastic in seals."

Topics: Environment, World News, Animals

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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