Cause and Effect
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At Lake Estes here in Estes Park, Colorado, we have one female Merganser Duck among large groups of Mallards and Canada Geese. Due to the unconscious behavior of people who fish at the lake, she has gotten fishing line with tackle wrapped around her bill and has been that way for over a month. The bottom part of her bill has now been almost cut off and is barely hanging. It breaks my heart to see her, though she does seem to be doing pretty well, considering. The wildlife folks have tried to catch her so they could help her, but she is very elusive….
One day this week, Donna and I walked for about an hour along the shore, picking up pieces of fishing line with hooks and sinkers…..this picture shows what we picked up in that short walk….and we do it almost every day along the same stretch of shoreline.
It never ceases to amaze me how unaware or uncaring humans can be….I am posting this just to help create awareness of how every single thing we do affects other beings on this planet….if it helps remind even one person to clean up his or her mess, then that has made a difference….
God Bless this precious little duck….
Cause and Effect belongs to the following groups:
The Birds
linaji
Ohhh Janb.. this is hart wrenching!!!!!!
Jan Landers replied
yes it is, lina…we go out everyday and she is always there…floating or sunning, usually next to a couple of mallards…..she is so beautiful…..my heart just cries….
Judi Taylor
Education is the key! I think that too many people are not aware. This is good work, Jan. Thank you for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention. We work together and live together. Now we must educate and support as well.
Jan Landers replied
you are so right, judi….and i heard that they are going to put up signs at the lake to remind people to clean up….i hope it helps….
Alice Oates
It is terrible, i really don’t understand humans who do this kind of thing. I just don’t see how they can think it’s right or not care that it isn’t. it really makes no sense to me at all that humans do this to beautiful animals that we should be helping to protect.
Jan Landers replied
i so agree, my friend…..it is so sad to see her…i feel so helpless….i just bless her and keep picking up more fishing line off the shore…that’s about all i can do…people really are unconscious….
Susan Bergstrom
This is almost too sad to imagine…don’t ya just want to kill some folks!!!
Jan Landers replied
it is one of the saddest things i have ever seen, susan….but she is still alive….that in itself is an amazing blessing….
Eivor Kuchta
I’m glad you’re posting this, Jan! Hopefully it will raise the awareness of this problems. What are they thinking? No, they are NOT thinking, that’s the problem.
Jan Landers replied
thanks, eivor…..i just hope this will help….
kjgordon
I hear ya Jan…......
Jan Landers replied
i know you do, my friend…mahalo..
Katagram
oh I am completely disgusted..I too, have spent time walking the beaches of Blue Mesa, and now Crown Hill Lake with the same purpose in mind..I am proud to say i have never left anything for nature to get hold of, unless it is across a raging river, stuck in a tree..and then i go home and am sick for days with worry..
Thank you both for doing your part in protecting wildlife..I hope someone is able to catch her to help..if not, then God please protect her !
Jan Landers replied
we do what we can, kat….and it feels good, even if it is something small….together we can make a difference!
tkrosevear
Ignorance is bliss for humans who disconnect from Nature and her creatures…at least there is you to keep watch sis…DOHIYI
Jan Landers replied
i do my best, sis….sometimes it just doesn’t feel like enough, though…DOHIYI…
Heather Rivet...
sad sad
Jan Landers replied
indeed it is…..but anything we can do to help is something…..i have to hold to my hope that this will help someone be more aware…
Laura Redmond
oh how sad,,she is beautiful,,such a shame she dosnt realise they just want to help her,,i wish she wont run away from them,,x
Jan Landers replied
she is sooooo beautiful…..i wish, too, that they could catch her and help her….
liesbeth
it’s good that you show jan… you are right.. i can never understand how people can be like this..
sad she won’t let the ones who care help her..
Jan Landers replied
it is hard for me to understand, too, liesbeth, since i am so connected to nature….but such is life…such are humans….we do what we can do…
tuffcookie
omg!1 this is so heart wrenching! i’m so glad you’ve shown this! humans can be so throughtless and cruel! Its sad she won’t allow those who care to help her.
Jan Landers replied
it tears at my heart, too, my friend….just trying to create some awareness here….
tuffcookie
i don’t blame you hun1 if i was faced with the same situation i would do the exact same thing. big hugs and thank you for your loving heart :)
Jan Landers replied
thank you, my friend….and thank you for caring…
aspectsoftmk
as we teach and share….we learn even more…this touches me as i see it here and it breaks my heart.
Jan Landers replied
yes, terri…i felt i had to share this….it breaks my heart, too, but i hold to the hope that it may help someone to be a little more aware of their actions….
shilohlin
you already know my feelings on this (probably can’t say them out loud on RB) and I pray for her safe capture, healing and release…..l’ll be patrolling the coastline while in Florida, as where I am staying is only a few hundred yards from the beach…. Seagulls and Pelicans that swoop down for prey are my biggest concern out there. We will all do what we are able, and some day our Mother Earth will be safe again, for all her children~
Jan Landers replied
shiloh, yes, i know your feelings….and i honor you for doing what you can while on the beaches of florida or anywhere you are…together we can clean up this earth and make it a better place to be….
handprintz
It is awful to have to stand by and feel so powerless to help, how hard can it be for people to clean up after they finish, a very sad but poignient image of wildlife trying to live along side us, sometimes the result is overwhelmingly distressing x
Jan Landers replied
it is so distressing, trudi, as you know….but i have to cling to the hope that things will get better…that our hearts are opening….