Plastic Found in One-Third of Leatherback Turtles Leatherback
turtles are ancient creatures with a modern problem: Plastic. A
new study looked at necropsy reports of more than 400
leatherbacks that have died since 1885 and found plastic in the
digestive systems of more than a third of the animals. Besides
plastic bags, the turtles had swallowed fishing lines, balloon
fragments, spoons, candy wrappers and more. Plastic was probably
not the cause of death in most cases. Nevertheless, the study is
an important wake-up call for a growing garbage problem.