Meet "Peanut". She is a red slider turtle who got trapped in a soda ring. How did this happen? When did this happen? When Peanut was small enough to fit into the space of a soda can, she got stuck. Without thumbs and the ability to use scissors, she was stuck for a long time. But she kept growing. Because of the constriction on her shell, her shell became "peanut" shaped. She was found by a human in Missouri who cut off the ring and took care of her. Today, she is doing well with the Missouri Department of Conservation. What other trash might hurt wildlife?
How could humans have prevented this from happening to Peanut?
A. Cut their soda rings
B. Buy soda only in boxes or bottles or not at all
C. Invent edible soda rings that will decompose over time (Teachers, beware of ads and context.)
D. All of the above
I once helped out a baby skunk who got trapped in an ice cream soda cup with plastic dome lid. (Luckily, I wasn't sprayed!) Trash should be covered, lids removed from recycling, and reusable containers should be used as much as possible. Prevention is the best medicine.
Some people and companies continue to litter and pollute. How else have humans helped animals hurt by trash and pollution? Dawn dish soap has helped animals in oil spills, which is great, but avoiding the harm in the first place (not to mention the time and expense alleviating the problem) is even better. Still, there are people inventing ways to clean our water and ways to help injured animals. One Brazil Tortoise was severely injured in a fire and was helped by humans who used a 3-D printer to make her a shell! Seabin hopes to collect all floating trash from the ocean, where there's an estimated 5.25 TRILLION pieces and counting!!! What would you do to clean the ocean and fresh waters?
ASRI hosts beach clean-ups every September. More articles and what you can do to help here:
http://www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2009/07-08/the_deadly_truth_about_trash.html
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/hazmat/articles/trash.html
http://www.plasticgarbageproject.org/en/plastic-garbage/problems/effects-on-the-animal-world/
http://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/litter
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