Sometimes it's hard to believe what havoc a little piece of trash or debris is capable of until you see it for yourself.
Wildography (@wildographyandsafaris), an avid promoter of wildlife conservation, posted a TikTok video that shows why fishermen need to be more careful with their gear.
@wildographyandsafaris @Black Bean Productions co- founder, environmental conservationist & filmmaker James Sutter & friend were fortunately able to rescue three seals that were entangled in a net yesterday at West Coast National Park in South Africa. In this video you can only see two of them - so grateful they all made it. It was a very tangible reminder of how important it is to educate ourselves, clean up our beaches and work to ensure plastic and things like this are not in our oceans. There is so much plastic and other waste, I can't imagine what animals go through. Keep watching until the end of the video - you'll see the seals cuddling and comforting each other too after happily bounding into the ocean - free from the net! #Wildography #protectouroceans #marinelife #marineconservation #saveouroceans #noplasticintheocean #oceanpollution #cleanupourbeaches #plasticintheoceankills #conservationmatters #foryou ♬ No Place on Earth - Tony Anderson
The video shows James Sutter — Black Bean Productions (@blackbeanproductions) co-founder, environmental conservationist, and filmmaker — with a friend at West Coast National Park in South Africa rescuing seals entangled in a fishing net.
They were able to successfully save three seals, although only two are shown in the video.
"It was a very tangible reminder of how important it is to educate ourselves, clean up our beaches, and work to ensure plastic and things like this are not in our oceans," the caption read.
Make sure to watch until the very end of the video as one seal waits for the other — their reunion at the water's edge will make your heart burst.
This isn't the only kind of rescue of its kind. Seals getting caught in fishing nets is nothing new. There have also been cases of seals getting stuck in fishing lines, punctured by fish hooks, and choked by plastic overwrap from a case of bottled water. In this case, the pup did not survive, and unfortunately, there are too many more stories like this.
Discarded nets, ghost nets, and other debris pose a major threat to seals and other marine life. National Geographic reports that scientists know of 226,000 species that call the ocean home, and humans are destroying it.
The majority of trash found in the ocean is plastic, which takes centuries to decompose, significantly contributing to the ocean crisis. There's an estimated 2.6 million tons of plastic floating in our oceans as reported by the Washington Post.
Even the smallest changes and efforts at home really do make a difference. Save money and start using non-plastic reusable food containers, grocery bags, and water bottles. We have to do better for the animals, our ocean, and the Earth.
The moving seal rescue was met with thousands of comments, most of which commend the two men for their good deed.
"I'm sick of all things people leave in the ocean," one person wrote.
Another agreed, saying, "It's a shame we are destroying their home."
"My heart is crying for what we do with our planet," said a third.
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