A turtle hatchling has had a miraculous survival story after surviving floods in northern NSW and ingesting plastic.
The green turtle, called Pretzel washed ashore on New Brighton beach as the region was hammered with rain and flash flooding.
The animal, which could fit in the palm of your hand, was estimated to only be a week or two old when it was found.
Plastic pollution has a major impact on marine life, particularly turtles, who regularly die after ingesting the items. It is estimated that more than eight million tonnes of plastics end up in the ocean each year.
Fortunately, for Pretzel, she was taken to the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital where an X-Ray found the creature had plastic in its stomach.
“Here’s this perfect little creature, which hasn’t even seen the world yet, and one of its first meals is plastic,“ treating veterinarian Dr Chantal Whitten said.
“It‘s absolutely shocking. At the moment BBWH is treating wildlife species from flood-impacted areas. This includes an increase in displaced animals like this hatchling swept off course and echidnas who would normally be in their burrows this time of year.”
Luckily Pretzel was able to pass the plastic after taking a laxative.
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The animal’s plight was further detailed by Gold Coast marine scientist Siobhan Houlihan in an Instagram post.
“Microplastics kill sea turtles, they can’t digest it and often suffer complications when trying to pass it, along with the internal damage that can be caused as these pieces try to pass through the gut,” she captioned a video of the animal.
“Microplastics kill sea turtles, they can‘t digest it and often suffer complications when trying to pass it, along with the internal damage that can be caused as these pieces try to pass through the gut.”
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