Turtles' Butts

I cannot, with certainty, say where I first encountered the following information. There was a time when I could confirm the source of nearly every new fact I learned. Now, I get a huge quantity of information from various sources. At times, I cannot remember whether I saw something on TV, heard it in a conversation or podcast, read it on paper, or learned about it via a computer screen. In this case, the initial information most probably came from the Internet and it caused a rather sad mental picture.

It seems that cigarette butts are often found in the stomachs of sea turtles. The filtered ends do not degrade; consequently, they get to the sea in other ways than being directly flicked into the waves. Many of the butts survive a journey through sewer drains and end up in the sea. Of course the filters themselves are toxic.

I had the sad mental picture of a large, unsuspecting marine turtle seeing what it assumed was some sort of tasty meal. Although hardly an ardent environmentalist, I couldn't shake the notion that we, as humans, can really screw up nature. In a more positive light, we also try to help it along at times.


Salmon fry being raised at the Capilano Hatchery, North Vancouver.