Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uu8t1kcu5276lf0/VRP56764.mp4?dl=0
An endangered green sea turtle with 158 pieces of trash inside its stomach was rescued in Thailand.
The juvenile marine reptile was first found stranded as it was too weak to move on the shallows at Kata Beach in Phuket province, Thailand on July 24.
Volunteers then took it to the wildlife centre to be checked for diseases but animal medics were shocked when its x-ray findings showed that the creature had ingested more than 150 pieces of plastic.
A month later the turtle was in stable condition after it was given doses of antibiotics to treat infections and fed with medicines and nutrition through a tube to help it defecate the trash.
Pathompong Jongjit, one of the vets who took care of the reptile, said: ‘We were relieved that the turtle’s body responded well to the treatment we did.
‘The trash inside its stomach and intestines were taken out naturally through defecation aided with antibiotics because some of its body parts started to become infected.’
The turtle was kept isolated in a tub where it would excrete some of the plastic so the water would be filled with plastic pieces at the end of the day.
However, it would still need some time to recover as the amount of trash it had ingested was too many but medics believed that the turtle is safe now.
Green sea turtles are classified as endangered by the nongovernment organisation International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The species are threatened by overharvesting of their eggs, hunting of adults, being caught in fishing gear, ingesting plastic, and loss of nesting beach sites.