COVID-19 and Our Wildlife
It’s 2021 and many are getting vaccinated for COVID-19. However, for those who are still using masks due to feeling uncomfortable of the idea of taking it off, or for those who haven’t received the vaccine yet, we will need to be careful of not only getting infected with the virus but also about our wildlife. How does the COVID-19 pandemic have to do anything with our wildlife? That is what we are going to answer together in this blog.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected and is still affecting our lives, but it too is also affecting our wildlife! This is mainly due to the great increase in the number of PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) being littered (the PPEs we will be primarily concerned about are disposable face masks, disposable latex/nitrile gloves, and hand sanitizers). To give numbers regarding the great increase in the number of PPEs being disposed, a Hong Kong conservation group estimated that 1.56 billion face masks entered our oceans in the year 2020 alone. Remember that this number is only including the number of face masks in the ocean, not other PPEs. There are so many face masks that have been improperly disposed of that they even reached Antarctica and a mask was even found in the stomach of a penguin!
Wildlife Reports
In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts made predictions that the pandemic would bring upon an environmental disaster that could last for generations due to improperly discarded PPEs which would harm wildlife and worsen the issue of plastic pollution -a global problem that has been long prevalent before the pandemic. Their predictions have been proven to be correct thus far as many habitats continue to be littered with PPEs and wildlife consuming these plastics at faster rates than before. This means that not only habitats are being destroyed, but also our wildlife ecosystems as well.
COVID-19 and Our Oceans
How are the ocean’s habitats and ecosystems being destroyed you may ask? First, due to the increasing amount of litter entering our blue waters with the already massive amount of plastic trash in our oceans, it is littering the ocean floors and our beautiful coral reefs. In fact, experts state that at this rate, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050! Sea creatures rely on the reefs and also the ocean floor for shelter such as eels and the bobbit worm. Not only that, but because there is more trash in our oceans, animals have been getting trapped in them (a fish was found stuck in the finger of a latex glove in the year 2020), more sea creatures have been consuming the trash believing that it is food leading to death due to starvation, and more animals who are consuming the trash having lower reproductive success. All of this incorrect disposing of trash contributes to the endangerment (sea turtles) and in worse cases, extinction of species.
COVID-19 and Our Land
We cannot forget that our land animals and pets are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Improperly disposed PPEs and other trash also disrupt land ecosystems and habitats as the trash piles up. This can be evidenced by the multiple sightings in which animals got tangled up in face masks and required help from humans to be untangled such hedgehogs and foxes. In more unfortunate cases, some even pass away from face masks such as a bird from Canada did. There is so much PPE litter (specifically masks and latex gloves) that birds have been seen building nests with them and swallowing them, monkeys have been seen biting and playing with them, and our own dogs and cats have been seen ingesting them.
How can I help our wildlife?
A great way to help out our wildlife is to use reusable masks and gloves, and to make sure you dispose your trash correctly. If you do not have reusable masks/gloves and must use disposable ones, a simple way to prevent the possibility of our wildlife becoming tangled in them is to simply snip the straps of the disposable masks. Even though it seems that only one person (you) cannot make that much of a difference, you will make a difference. You can inform those around you like your family of how the COVID-19 is negatively impacting our wildlife. You have the power to influence those around you to do the right thing. The more people that you can inform to be aware of this global issue, the better! These simple acts goes to show that one person can make a big difference by extending their influence to others and by doing so, can help save multiple lives.
Thank you so much for reading this blog. I hope you learned something new about how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting our wildlife, learned how you can help reduce the negative effects, and found some inspiration to help prevent the loss of life from PPEs. Feel free to share this blog with your friends and family as well! Thank you and I will see you next time! :)
Citations:
[1] “Discarded Face Masks Killing Animals Around the World, Study Finds - Videos from The Weather Channel.” The Weather Channel, weather.com/health/coronavirus/video/discarded-face-masks-killing-animals-around-the-world-study-finds.
[2] Gamillo, Elizabeth. “Discarded Covid-19 Masks and Plastic Gloves Are Killing Wildlife.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 14 Apr. 2021, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/covid-19-ppe-entangling-and-killing-wildlife-180977502/.
[3] Gough, Andrew. “Masks, Gloves and Other Pandemic PPE Are Killing Animals, Researchers Find.” SURGE, SURGE, 14 Apr. 2021, www.surgeactivism.org/articles/masks-gloves-and-other-pandemic-ppe-are-killing-animals-researchers-find.
[4] “Trapped in Gloves, Tangled in Masks: Covid PPE Killing Animals, Report Finds.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 29 Mar. 2021, www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/29/gloves-masks-covid-ppe-killing-animals-report-litter.