You know the planet is in a bad state when a sea turtle poops plastic for a month after being rescued.
That was the case for one of the sea swimmers when it was saved after showing signs of distress at Melbourne Beach, Florida by marine biologists. A large piece of plastic was dislodged from the turtle’s gastrointestinal tract. While recuperating, the poor turtle eventually rid itself of 74 pieces of plastic including balloons, string, soft plastics and hard plastics. It also passed two tar balls. (Thanks BP).
Why would a turtle dine on plastic? The amphibians, which have poor eyesight, confuse plastic bags and deflated balloons floating in the ocean with their normal meals of jellyfish. The only good use for old plastic shopping bags is to knit a giant squid with them.
The sea turtle didn’t capture all his escapades on film like a certain red-eared slider turtle, but at least he’ll have another chance to take to the water again.
The turtle with the tummy trouble was just one example of problems created by ocean trash discussed during the Fifth International Marine Debris Conference held last week in Honolulu.
