Very few things will get an outdoor enthusiast as angry as
being faced with someone’s litter, or trash if you will. We have all
experienced it, walking on our favorite trails, visiting our favorite parks or
other natural areas, and coming face-to-face with garbage. This can be anything
from soda cans and beer bottles to dirty diapers and old tires. It makes no
difference what the trash is, the results are the same, unsightly litter that
harms the environment and the animals that live there. It has now become the
responsibility of conscientious, civic-minded individuals to clean up after
those who won’t clean up after themselves. Countless tons of trash are picked
up each year in Missouri alone, by organizations that recognize the importance
of removing this potentially harmful litter before it causes untold amounts of
damage to our soil, water, and wildlife.
This is frustrating to say the least, after all why should
we have to be the ones to pick up after those irresponsible individuals who
made the mess? We do it because we know it is the right thing to do.
Working as
a naturalist gives me the opportunity to educate the youth of our state about
the importance of cleaning up after ourselves. The Missouri Conservation
Department designates April as NoMO Trash Month and launches a campaign each
year to educate Missourians about the cause-and-effect issues of litter. We
encourage the philosophy, “If you pack it in, pack it out!” Don’t rely on other
people to pick up after you.
I came face-to-face with one such cause and effect of
littering, one evening many years ago. I was out walking around the backyard
when I heard my daughter yelling. I could only make out “Mom, hurry, SNAKE!” I
ran to see what the commotion was about and discovered a Western (black) rat
snake near the backdoor. It was about two feet long and had most likely just
come out of hibernation. This in and of itself is not unusual, we see a lot of
black snakes in our yard. However, this was the first time I’ve encountered one
with a plastic band around its midsection. I soon realized this snake was in
trouble and would not survive another season with this bracelet of trash around
its middle. It would not be able to eat properly and who knows what other
internal damage the snake would end up suffering. I quickly grabbed the snake
before it could disappear and earned a bite for my trouble. How could I blame
the snake? It had just woken up from 5 months of winter and was most likely
hungry and thirsty, it had a restrictive band around it that probably made
mobility uncomfortable and was now being snatched up off the ground by a giant predator.
I’d bite me too!
I found my husband and showed him the snake and asked him to
help me help the snake. We debated for a few minutes on the best way to proceed
and ultimately decided that sawing the plastic ring off was the safest and best
way to remove it. I held the snake under strict instructions from my husband to
not let the snake bite him! This was no easy feat, I had to maintain a firm
grip on the snake without squeezing too hard, I had to hold onto the piece of
plastic to keep it from moving so that my husband could saw it, and I had to
make sure the snake was not encountering the saw blade…. I only have two hands!
After 20 or 30 minutes, we finally had the band sawed completely through, but
we could not get it off the snake! The snake was too big around to slide it
off, and I was about ready to cry. All that work in vain? Then my husband got
an idea, he retrieved a handy-dandy tool that spread the plastic apart. He held
the plastic open, so I could “feed” the snake through it and finally free it. I
looked at the snake's wounds, and fortunately they did not look severe. There
was no blood, and nothing was festering. This snake was lucky and will recover
from his experience. I released him to a safe place in the yard to regain his
strength and to hide and lick his wounds, so to speak.
Many would say….” so what, that is just one snake, and I
don’t like them anyway!” No animal deserves to suffer a slow, agonizing death
that was preventable in the first place. This piece of plastic originated in
the crawl space under our master bathroom. We hired a plumber several years
prior to finding this snake, to do some work in the bathroom; he had to cut
various pieces of PVC pipe and left behind his litter. If this person had taken
a few minutes and picked up after himself this snake would never have ended up
in such a predicament.
UPDATE: I saw this snake several years later in my front
yard, and he was doing well, although he was still showing the scars from his
experience.
I, for one, appreciate the snakes that live in my yard and
on the eighty-six acres we own. They provide rodent control, and I can honestly
say they do a superb job of it too. I have not found a sign of a mouse in our
house in many years!
Many animals are not so lucky and never get rescued from the
litter they find themselves entrapped in. They suffocate, strangle, and die
slow agonizing deaths. The Conservation Department has a turtle named Peanut.
Peanut is a red ear slider that found itself stuck in the plastic rings that
soda is carried in. He could not remove the plastic himself, and the plastic
did not dissolve. Year after year, Peanut carried his plastic ring everywhere
he went. He grew, but the plastic ring did not expand with his growth,
consequently he became malformed. He was eventually found by some fishermen,
who took him to a veterinarian. They were able to remove the plastic ring and
after x-rays determined he was one lucky turtle and had suffered no internal
injuries. He will forever be misshapen and resemble the peanut after which he
is named. Peanut is an ambassador for the “no more littering campaign” and
travels the state sharing his story with the public. If you want a chance to
see Peanut in person, he makes a guest appearance each year at the Missouri
State Fair in Sedalia. A quick search on the internet will reveal many such
stories about animals suffering unnecessarily due to the litter left behind by
irresponsible humans.
For some time, across our country wildfires have been
breaking out. With high winds and dry conditions it doesn’t take much for a
disaster to start. One sure way to start a forest fire is to throw out a lit
cigarette. I see it all the time, reckless, irresponsible smokers chucking a
cigarette stub out of their vehicle window. Just the other day I witnessed a
man throwing his cigarette stub to the ground in a parking lot right in front
of me. This is an all too often occurrence, and smokers should know better.
This litter is unsightly, birds often mistake stubs for food and get ill from
eating them. A smoldering cigarette thrown from a car can very easily ignite a
fire that can and often does destroy forests, homes and takes lives. A friend
of mine recently lost his home, and everything in it to the Stillwater fires,
they were lucky that no one in their household was killed. If you are a smoker,
please do the right thing, put your cigarette in a receptacle.
With the return of spring and outdoor activities we
will all be spending more time outside, remember to pack it out, if you pack it
in. Or even better, organize a team and purposely pick up someone else’s
litter. It only takes a few minutes to do the right thing……. all the wild
animals will thank you.
