We have many birds here that have only one foot and some with both feet gone.
Leave only your footprints is a popular saying, but so many don't, and this is the result.
This is a Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), in a freshwater dam and its legs got caught in some fishing nylon string waste that we call "gut". Many fishermen have the habit of throwing their nylon waste into the water.
Not only birds, but other wild water creatures are strangled by the waste. A few years ago, I had to cut a bird free from the nylon, as it would not have made it. It was a Blacksmith Lapwing.
I am not the only one that is worried about this.
Now we will have a look at the beach.
*Many coastal birds, horseshoe crabs, sea turtles, and marine mammals are injured or killed each year as the result of becoming tangled in fishing line and its associated hooks and tackle that have been improperly disposed of along beaches or thrown over from boats into the water. *
Hooks and lines caught on branches and debris can harm animals and cause them to become tangled on legs, wings, and beaks of birds. Geese, ducks and gulls sustain crippling injuries after one or both of their legs become wrapped in fishing line. A hook caught in a beak or mouth can make eating painful or impossible, resulting in death by starvation.
Source
This is an African Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) and the sad thing is that they are on the red endangered list.
Yep! You see that its left foot is gone and now it cannot sleep on the rocks anymore.
I wonder how it eats, as they need both feet to anchor them on the rocks when they break the oysters loose.
A perfect target for predators.
Finally, birds have an intricate design, and they need all of their body parts to function. But sadly, some in this life don't give a damn about the birds.
It always makes me angry when I see this. I mean, what does it cost to have a bag with you for the waste? Be it hanging from you belt at shore, or at your feet in your boat. Littering is a terrible evil.
Imagine what it is to go through life with only foot and how difficult it would be. Now as humans, we have all kinds of medical inventions and maybe the is a false foot available to ease the situation. Wildlife do not have these interventions and the two birds that I show here's days are numbered.
They will not live for much longer and yes, it is a heartbreaking situation.
I am sorry to share this post with you, but if it can even make us think about the littering situation, then I would be very happy.
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
