Coconut party

This video displays the unusual behaviours of one of the smartest invertebrates : the coconut octopus.

It’s the first time I ever saw one while I was diving in Lembeh Strait in Indonesia February 2020, before travel restrictions.

Coconut octopuses are very special creatures :
They move using bipedal walking and use tools for shelters such as empty shells or coconuts.

Hence their name ! Coconut octopus !

Natural Greens

This is a green turtle 🐢feeding on jellyfish on the Great Barrier Reef.

A floating plastic bag can look a lot like jellyfish, algae, or other species that make up a large component of the sea turtles’ diets.

#1 WHAT HAPPENS TO SEA TURTLES 🐢 THAT EAT PLASTICS?

The outlook for turtles that eat plastic is bleak: for 22% ingesting just one plastic item can be a death sentence.

Sharp plastics can rupture internal organs and bags can cause intestinal blockages leaving turtles unable to feed, resulting in starvation.

Even if they survive, consuming plastic can make turtles unnaturally buoyant, which can stunt their growth and lead to slow reproduction rates.

However, it’s not just ingesting plastic that causes problems for turtles. Entanglement in marine debris can easily kill through drowning or preventing individuals from hunting or escaping predators.

#2 WHAT CAN YOU DO?

With the odds stacked so heavily against sea turtles 🐢, it can be difficult to know how you can help.

The answer is simple, we need to reduce the amount of plastic entering the ocean. Australia alone contributes 130,000 tonnes to the world’s seas every year, and this is killing turtles.

This starts at an individual level so pledge to #ReduceYourUse today, sea turtles 🐢 everywhere are depending on it.

Source: https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/what-do-sea-turtles-eat-unfortunately-plastic-bags#gs.7t4q3n

Music: Natural Blues performed by Moby, written by Alan Lomax, Richard Hall, Vera Hall