'Caught in a Trap'
Title: 'Caught in a Trap' The results of lost fishing line can be devastating to wild life as we witnessed on a recent River outing. This Great Blue Heron had entangled itself in monofilament line discarded by a careless individual and was struggling with trying to free itself. The line, with a bobber still attached, was wrapped around the wing and the leg making it impossible for the GBH to put it's foot down any further than seen in this image.
Monofilament fishing line is an amazingly strong substance that gets snagged on many elements in the environment. Little thought is given by a vast majority of fisherman to snapping the line when it invariably gets tangled; other than “darn that was my favorite lure”. Just look around trees and shrubs next to favorite fishing holes and see how much fishing line is strewn at the waters edge, on the ground and snagged in the vegetation. To protect wildlife and the environment, always take all line with you when you leave.
Monofilament kills wildlife indiscriminately. Both common and protected species of birds have been observed with fishing line tangled around their legs, wings and beaks. Once entangled, the bird has limited or no options for defense or the ability to feed itself. It only takes one line snagged in a tree to entangle and kill. It only takes one careless person to trash a place; then again it only takes one caring individual to clean it up. Do your part, knowing that your efforts are appreciated.
We tried to help this victim of improperly discarded fishing line but were unable to get close enough to the disabled Heron at the edge of the Cypress Swamp. This image was the winner at the NPN 2015 Editor's Pick Awards
The awards represents the 'Best of the Best' in Nature Photography
Only three images in each of the ten categories are selected from thousands submitted world wide each year to the Nature Photographers Network for this prestigious annual competition. The winning images have to compete and win in several preliminary stages to even be eligible for the ‘Pick of the Year Award’
'Caught in a Trap' was selected 1st Place in the Environmental Photojournalism Category See more at the 2015 Editor's Pick Awards - HERE
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