Tiny Turtle Found Dead With 104 Pieces Of Plastic In Its Intestines
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A tiny dead turtle that washed up on a beach in Florida was found to have 104 pieces of plastic in its intestines.
The tragic discovery was shared by Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in a Facebook post on Tuesday, which revealed that every dead turtle they had found during 'washback season' had plastic in its intestines.
The post read: "Not such a happy #TurtleTuesday this week. It's washback season at Gumbo Limbo and weak, tiny turtles are washing up along the coastline needing our help.
"Unfortunately, not every washback survives. 100 percent of our washbacks that didn't make it had plastic in their intestinal tracts.
"This turtle, which would fit in the palm of your hand, had eaten 104 pieces of plastic. This is a sad reminder that we all need to do our part to keep our oceans plastic free."
Tiny turtles washing up on beaches need our help. 100% of ours that didn't survive had plastic in their GI tracts. This tiny loggerhead had eaten 104 pieces of plastic. We all need to do our part to keep our oceans #plasticfree. #reducereuserecycle #trashfreeseas #lovegumbolimbo pic.twitter.com/CIQdY1MMeY
- Gumbo Limbo Nature Center (@GumboLimboNC) October 2, 2019
Unfortunately, discoveries like this are all too common an occurrence. In July, a five-year-old turtle was found dead on Somprasong beach in Chonburi, eastern Thailand.
Veterinarian Kirin Sornpipatcharoen examined the body and found its belly full of plastic, including bags and food wrappers.
He said: "The turtle's stomach was full of plastic garbage.
"Most of the pieces looked like the tentacles of jellyfish, which might have confused the turtle into believing that they were food.
"We're sure that the plastic in the stomach contributed to or caused the tragic death of the turtle."
While plastic is evidently having a devastating impact on marine life, increasing awareness of the issue has seen people attempting to do their bit to help tackle the problem.
In August, the viral #FillTheBottle challenge saw people across the world pack empty plastic bottles with littered cigarette butts - with research indicating that one cigarette butt per litre of water can be highly toxic to fish.
LADbible has claimed the world's first country made entirely of trash to highlight the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans.
Get involved and ensure the world's first country made of trash is its last.
Become a citizen of the Trash Isles here
Donate to our charity partner, Plastic Oceans Foundation here
Featured Image Credit: Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Topics: US News, trash isles, Animals
