Rescued sea turtle passes more than 100 pieces of plastic in stool

Turtle was recovering from hook removal surgery when it began passing plastic in stool

A sea turtle passed more than 100 pieces of plastic in its stool at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton. (City of Boca Raton/Gumbo Limbo Nature Center)

BOCA RATON, Fla. ā€“ A sea turtle that has been receiving treatment at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton recently passed more than 100 pieces of plastic in her stool, the nature center posted on social media.

According to the centerā€™s post, the turtle named Zatanna was recovering from a hook removal surgery when she began passing large pieces of plastic debris in her stool.

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Pieces of plastic found in stool of rescued sea turtle (City of Boca Raton/Gumbo Limbo Nature Center)

The objects included bottle caps, pieces of cutlery, garbage and Zip-lock bags and large plastic shards.

ā€œThis turtle was likely foraging in open water where floating mats of trash are sadly becoming the norm. We must take a stand by refusing single-use plastics!ā€ the post read.

The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is operated by the city of Boca Raton in conjunction with the Friends of Gumbo Limbo and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District.


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.