Sea Turtle with Straw up its Nostril – "NO" TO PLASTIC STRAWS

This is the original video! Filmed by marine conservation biologist Christine Figgener, PhD.
***WARNING: Graphic Content & Inappropriate/ Strong Language!***
A research team led by Christine Figgener (Texas A&M University) found a male olive ridley sea turtle during an in-water research trip in Costa Rica. He had a 10-12 cm PLASTIC STRAW lodged in his nostril and they removed it. This video shows graphically why plastic waste is detrimental to marine life, especially single-use plastics (such as straws, which are one of the most redundant items). This turtle suffers from an item that is human-made and used by most of us frequently.

SAY “NO” TO PLASTIC STRAWS, AND ANY KIND OF ONE-TIME USE PLASTIC ITEMS!

Help Me Continue My Work of Saving Sea Turtles!
If you like what I am doing, please consider helping me to continue protecting and researching sea turtles. I cannot do it without your help. It only takes 500 of you, who can spare a fancy coffee per month, to make a real change. Download the new MilkyWire app and join me in saving sea turtles.
Thank you, you are amazing!

MilkyWire on AppStore https://apps.apple.com/us/app/milkywire-crowdfund-charity/id1454800179
MilkyWire on GooglePlay https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.milkywire.voyager

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If you are interested in following my adventures in the world of marine turtles and ocean conservation, make sure to also follow me on Social Media:

IG http://bit.ly/2Ky4DR5 – @cfiggener
Twitter http://bit.ly/2lJpu64 – @ChrisFiggener
Facebook http://bit.ly/2MBeFyp – @cfiggener
http://www.seaturtlebiologist.com

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Copyright: Christine Figgener
To use this video in a commercial player or in broadcasts, please email licensing@storyful.com
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THE FULL STORY:
My research team found a male Olive Ridley sea turtle during an in-water research trip in Costa Rica.
He had a 10-12 cm PLASTIC STRAW lodged in his nostril.

After initially thinking that we are looking at a parasitic worm, and trying to remove it to identify it, we cut a small piece off to investigate further and finally identified what we were REALLY looking at.
After a short debate about what we should do we removed it with the plier of a swiss army knife which was the only tool available on our small boat (not intended for overnight stays), since we were on the ocean, in a developing country, a few hours away from the coast and several hours away from any vet (probably days from any vet specialised in reptiles, not to mention sea turtles) and x-ray machines. Plus, we would have incurred a penalty (up to time in jail) on ourselves by removing the turtle since that is beyond our research permits. He did very obviously not enjoy the procedure very much, but we hope that he is now able to breath more freely.
The blood from the shoulder is from a 6mm skin biopsy we took previously to this event for a genetic study (part of our permitted research), which usually doesn’t bleed much, but which started bleeding while restraining the turtle.
We disinfected the air passageway with iodine and kept the turtle for observation before releasing him back into the wild.
The bleeding stopped pretty much immediately after the removal of the straw, and when we released him, he swam happily away.

The turtle very likely swallowed the straw while ingesting other food items and then either expelled the straw together with the redundant sea water through her nostrils or regurgitated the straw and it ended up in the wrong passageway. The nasal cavity of sea turtles is connected directly to the palate (roof of the mouth) by a long nasopharyngeal duct.
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RELATED LINKS
The Plastic Pollution Coalition launched a “No Straw” Campaign in collaboration with us.
Take the No-Straw-Pledge and learn more:
http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition….
—–
The Story behind the viral video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLN52…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MPHb…

What are single-use plastic items?
http://www.greeneriepa.org/single-use…
http://singleuseplastic.co.uk/what-we…

What can you do?
REDUCE (REFUSE=STRAWS)/ RE-USE/ RECYCLE
http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/rrr…

Organise your own beach cleanups!
An amazing plastic clean-up project is the TWO HANDS PROJECT, collect trash and post it on facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/twohandsproject
http://www.twohandsproject.org/

MORE INFO:
https://www.5gyres.org/

Home


http://micro2016.sciencesconf.org/
http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/red…
http://www.plasticchange.org/en/om-pl…
http:/theoceancleanup.com

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Contact Email: christine.figgener@tamu.edu
Christine Figgener, PhD

50 Comments

  1. leidy yasmin giraldo acosta on June 29, 2020 at 10:49 am

    Pobre tortugita :'(

  2. Ignacio Guzman on June 29, 2020 at 10:52 am

    Porque hablan ingles y español ?

  3. Aoy Ruay on June 29, 2020 at 10:54 am

    ว้าววววว

  4. Dashanae Capers on June 29, 2020 at 10:56 am

    #savetheturtles

  5. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 10:57 am

    다들 싫어요. 눌러요!!!!!!! 내

  6. Shane Ronto on June 29, 2020 at 10:57 am

    Did you know that it’s not the straws that’s the problem it’s the people who use them that don’t know how to recycle

  7. Adelice Macedo on June 29, 2020 at 10:59 am

    Oi gente Coitadinho do bichinho da coração por favor a gente tô tão triste com uma tartaruguinha dela mas como é que se como é que esse bicho vai entrar eu Coitadinho do bicho eu gosto de dormir todos os dias viu eu pensei que fosse o vídeo engraçada ia colocar kkk mas só que eu pensei que era o vídeo engraçado e aí coloca kkk entendeu mas só que eu vou tão triste quando eu tava dormindo gente da minha irmã tartaruguinha😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

  8. Giannina Aguilar Reyes on June 29, 2020 at 11:01 am

    5:00

  9. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:03 am

    지금 할머니 거북이 가 피도나는대 291,422조아요 실화.

  10. Brayden Berkowitz on June 29, 2020 at 11:04 am

    Fuck you

  11. Inés virginia Cappelluti on June 29, 2020 at 11:06 am

    SONMALOSCOMOLEBA. aSER. E. SOAUNATORTUGA

  12. Romulo Rominho on June 29, 2020 at 11:06 am

    🐢🐢🐢

  13. Gucheline Castin on June 29, 2020 at 11:08 am

    FUCK THAT TURTLE I NEED DEM STRAWs TO SLURP MY COKE

  14. Inés virginia Cappelluti on June 29, 2020 at 11:09 am

    😠😠

  15. bauti897 brianza on June 29, 2020 at 11:09 am

    But what? WTF is this

  16. C tigger on June 29, 2020 at 11:10 am

    I feel so bad for that 🐢 turtle that probably hurt like heck and probably hurt more trying to breath with that in her/his nose

  17. mnokno on June 29, 2020 at 11:10 am

    SAVE THE TURTLES!!!!!

  18. супер нубас on June 29, 2020 at 11:13 am

    Ойойой

  19. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:14 am

  20. Samaya Reid on June 29, 2020 at 11:14 am

    At least some people care thank god for people like u

  21. Hard Max on June 29, 2020 at 11:16 am

    Бедненький жалко

  22. Leela Witt on June 29, 2020 at 11:17 am

    I feel so bad 🙁 oh no

  23. Larissa Da silva on June 29, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Da do but gives relief also

  24. Xia Cheng on June 29, 2020 at 11:20 am

    sksksk and i oop save the turtles

  25. Maria Dalire on June 29, 2020 at 11:20 am

    This is like try not to look away challenge

  26. IamSpidey24 on June 29, 2020 at 11:21 am

    Damn humans

  27. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:22 am

    싫어요 고작 30,308 이러면안대지 3000.897이야지 내

  28. Larissa Da silva on June 29, 2020 at 11:23 am

    Tadinha vey

  29. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:23 am

    안 눌루면 싸이코임

  30. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:26 am

    할머니 거북이 죽을번 한거갔았어요.

  31. Stephanie Jackson on June 29, 2020 at 11:28 am

    Why didn’t they just put this poor animal to sleep

  32. MC Makkara on June 29, 2020 at 11:29 am
  33. Dennis Morales on June 29, 2020 at 11:30 am

    Humans need to realize that the Earth is made for them. If we keep trashing it we will eventually destroy ourselves!!!

  34. Luis Miguel Garcia-koc on June 29, 2020 at 11:30 am

    🙁 this is so sad

  35. Aethan 1856 Barohona on June 29, 2020 at 11:31 am

    You bloody hurt that baby turtle

  36. 王子の動画鬱克撚畿 on June 29, 2020 at 11:35 am

    ちゃんと はさんでやれよ 可哀そうに 下手くそ

  37. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:36 am

    저기요 싸이코 에요!?

  38. Agnus Melissa on June 29, 2020 at 11:37 am

    Poor turtle😢

  39. Dashanae Capers on June 29, 2020 at 11:40 am

    #dontthrowplasticintheocen

  40. ッPEACH on June 29, 2020 at 11:40 am

    Poor baby.🥺

  41. V.A.N.S Y.T.B on June 29, 2020 at 11:41 am

    😭😭😭 save the turtle 🐢

  42. Sabelia Zuñiga on June 29, 2020 at 11:41 am

    Que tristeza que la gente no cuide si no que haga el mal miren esos pobres animales, como se estan muriendo gracias al estupido plastico , ! Cuiden porque despues no tendremos¡ que tristeza 😣😣😣😣😫😫😖😖😢😢😭😦😳

  43. Dashanae Capers on June 29, 2020 at 11:41 am

    #savetheocen

  44. Daylinda Pasatiempo on June 29, 2020 at 11:42 am

    I feel bad for the turtle and other sea creatures.

  45. NotSnow_ii ツ on June 29, 2020 at 11:42 am

    HE LOOKS SO HURT IT HURTS ME 🥺
    edit: or she))

  46. 종딱TV on June 29, 2020 at 11:43 am

    저 거복이 할머니 거복인대 게아프게다 ㅠㅠ

  47. talia ayoub on June 29, 2020 at 11:44 am

    In crying from the turtle when she started crying

  48. Dashanae Capers on June 29, 2020 at 11:46 am

    #helptheturtles

  49. Drunken Horseman on June 29, 2020 at 11:47 am

    I feel like people forget that trashcans exist when I see things like this. It makes me sad.

  50. Tactical Fury Gaming on June 29, 2020 at 11:47 am

    I think its tha turtles fault just say’n

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