Wildlife Worries

Pollution is a danger to everything that lives in the ocean. Sea turtles choke on plastic bags. They eat these bags because they look like the jellyfish that the turtles often eat. Sea turtles, sea otters, seals, and whales all get stuck in old fishing nets. Birds that get covered in oil from oil spills cannot fly.

Unseen chemicals in oceans build up in fish. The chemicals also build up in the animals that eat fish. These chemicals often build up over a long time. In 2007, scientists in Canada found chemicals that had not been used in over 20 years in beluga whales.

This brown pelican got covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in 2010. Brown pelicans were hit hard by this spill.
This brown pelican got covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in 2010. Brown pelicans were hit hard by this spill.View Larger Image
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