Peanut turtle deformed by our rubbish
19th October 2011
This is not a new story but one that only recently came to our attention so we wanted to bring it to yours in case you missed it too.
The depressing image below depicts a red eared slider turtle who became trapped in a six pack plastic ring and grew around it.
The turtle, since dubbed 'Peanut' for her unique shape, became permanently deformed as a result of the confinement.
The rings would have made her easy prey or drowned her but luckily a local boy found her and took her to the rescue centre. Rescue workers found her lungs to be squashed and some of her organs didn't work properly but she was alive and kicking despite it all.
Sadly, it takes stories and images like this to stop people litering our oceans - lets hope this is the last one we need! Come on, we can do muchbetter than this...
We all have a part to play to prevent this happening again. We must all look at what we buy and how we dispose of our rubbish and make sure to know where our waste ends up. To be sure, cut six pack rings and milk top rings before you toss them.
If you'd like to support turtle protection and conservation first hand, have a look at our conservation partners to see how you can get involved.
We have some inspiring organisations on the site that are doing their bit to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
Check out our turtle focused friends below:
Tiny Island Volunteers
Help Our Penyu
SEE Turtles
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4 Comments
On 24th October 2011 Brian Heagney said:
We, Fins 'n' Flukes, have a petition asking the King of Tonga to offer protection to all species of Sea Turtles visiting the islands of Tonga. At present it is legal to catch and kill these endangered animals in Tonga. Our goal is to present 50,000 signatures to the King. Please sign here http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/please-grant-royal-protection-for-sea-turtles-visiting-the-kingdom-of-tonga
On 9th December 2011 Sam said:
Thanks for this Brian - and good luck!
On 30th January 2012 Chrissy Dawkins said:
That is a heartbreaking photo. The people working to protect these turtles are saints.
On 8th February 2012 Iosif said:
Too bad!.. :(