Some disturbing images of an endangered turtle washed up on beach in Fort Morgan have created a stir on social media.
It seems that humans never learn their lesson, to respect and protect the wilderness and the environment. And unfortunately, at the end of the day the wild animals are those who’re suffering because of our indifference and ignorance.
And that carelessness is the exact reason why an extremely endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle has died. The poor creature was found lifeless with a beach chair tangled around its neck.
“We did it, turtles will not encounter chairs if it were not for us,” Richard Brewer, a Dauphin Island resident and Volunteer with Share the Beach, an advocacy organization for sea turtles, told FOX 10. “Heartbreaking. Truly heartbreaking.”
According to National Geographic, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles are the most endangered turtle species in the world. “And though their nesting grounds are protected and many commercial fishing fleets now use turtle excluder devices in their nets, these turtles have not been able to rebound,” National Geographic writes. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species is listed as critically endangered.
Endangered sea turtle washes up on Fort Morgan tangled by a beach chair: https://t.co/BXHNbJi65M pic.twitter.com/YpmDcE5s5U
— KSLA News 12 (@KSLA) July 16, 2018
“Sea turtles are important enough that we will go to whatever lengths we can to protect them. It’s very heartbreaking to know that its something that could have been prevented,” Mr. Brewer said. “[…] to find out that we had a mature female Kemp’s that just died because of something that could have been prevented is tragic.”
After all, people should understand once and for all to “only leave footprints,” when they visit the beach. “Come to the beach, enjoy yourself, have a great time. Make sure you left the beach cleaner than it was when you’ve showed up,” Mr. Brewer said.
