Featured Image Credit: Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
By Sarah Sharkey
A knife was spotted in the mouth of a young Hawaiian monk seal on Hawai’i Island last month. It was a shock to the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer who was present. He was able to take footage of the seal playing with a knife in its mouth.
Eventually, the seal pup dropped the knife and went off to play with something else. The knife was retrieved from the rocks, but before she dropped it the crews were worried that she would swallow it. Obviously, that would have some drastic consequences, so luckily the knife wasn’t swallowed but the incident definitely qualifies as a close call.
Unfortunately, other seals are not so lucky. Many seals and other marine animals are found dead in human trash such as nets and other entanglements. Many others are injured or killed by plastic that has made its way into the ocean.
The sheer amount of trash in the oceans is devastating. So many animals are affected because it is their home that we are polluting.
What will it take for us to stop polluting the oceans? If a knife in the mouth of a baby seal doesn’t scare us, then what will?
Learn more from our source.