Turtle Struggling to Breathe Washes up Ashore on a Beach. It’s X-Ray Revealed A Disheartening Truth

Inside the neon green aquarium’s I&J Ocean Exhibit, whose tank sploshes with over 2,000,000 liters of crystal clear waters, swims Bob. Since 2014, Bob has become a “shell-ibrity” among the 500,000 visitors who walk through the tunnel of the aquarium each year. The majestic green sea turtle lives in the aquarium along with hundreds of other underwater creatures like stingrays, musselcrackers, pufferfish, and more. As Bob swims gleefully and claps his flippers, his backstory makes the people watching him cry and shed tears. It started in November 2014 when a rescuing team at Two Oceans Aquarium spotted him washing up on the Struisbaai shoreline. Bob looked strangled, choked, and at the edge of death.

When the rescuers picked up the green sea turtle from the beach, they were heartbroken to find that his body featured severe bruising. His bottom shell, called plastron, was badly fractured, and soon this fractured bone developed an infection. At that time, they suspected that bacteria from the injury had spread to his blood, and ultimately to his brain, causing “encephalitis and inflammation.” This resulted in Bob’s brain damage, which not only impaired his vision but also prevented him from performing many of his natural behaviors.

But three months into its care, the aquarium staff made a shocking discovery. The real cause of Bob’s discomfort was not his injuries but something no one could have imagined. Only when Bob pooped out several bits of plastic bags and balloons, the doctors realized the true cause behind his condition. After recurring bloodwork, X-rays, antibiotics, and rehydrating baths, a doctor finally operated and set Bob free by pulling out a giant piece of plastic from his mouth. Some strings of the plastic were still clinging to his throat.

Struisbaai, a coastal town in South Africa's Western Cape province borders a sea that overflows with the waters of the Indian Ocean. Within these waters, turtles love to eat jellyfish. But sometimes, when there is a floating plastic shred in the water, the turtle can’t distinguish between the floating object and a jellyfish. The innocent creature swallows the human trash down their throat, which leads to bowel abnormalities, not to forget respiratory congestion, and sometimes, death.

A 2017 survey revealed that over 1,000 sea turtles die each year after getting entangled in trashed plastic such as ghost nets or floating debris. "Plastic rubbish in the oceans, including lost or discarded fishing gear which is not biodegradable, is a major threat to marine turtles,” the researchers noted, and appealed to people, “We need to cut the level of plastic waste and pursue biodegradable alternatives if we are to tackle this grave threat to turtles' welfare.”

Now, as Bob is healing, he is re-awakening to his natural and wild behaviors. Although he has displayed drastic improvement, he has ended up “slightly short-sighted.” Ever since his story circulated on the internet, Bob became the poster of how plastic pollution is endangering the lives of sea turtles. “The ocean is not safe for turtles,” the aquarium wrote in bold letters. They urged people to think thrice before recklessly tossing plastic objects, fishing equipment, and balloons inside the waters. Without the essential support of humans, these fascinating reptiles won’t be able to survive – something the aquarium termed “The Flipper Effect.”