4 min read Turtle Cut Free From 6-Pack Rings Is Unstoppable 20 Years Later

<p> Missouri Department of Conservation<span></span> </p>

The carelessness of a litterbug altered Peanut's life forever, but it never slowed her down. Decades after being rescued from the plastic ring of a six-pack holder, the tenacious turtle is still alive and well - each day helping to change the world for the better. "People see her and learn her story, and they get it," Peanut's handler, Amy Wilkinson from the Missouri Department of Conservation, told The Dodo. "She's a great example of why not to litter."

Missouri Department of Conservation

In the 1980s, when Peanut was still a small red-eared slider roaming the wild of Missouri, she became stuck in the plastic ring of a six-pack holder that someone failed to dispose of properly. She continued to grow over the years, though the constraining litter caused her shell to become deformed, impeding her mobility and putting her at risk of predator attacks. Help came in 1993, when she was rescued and finally cut free from the saddening predicament that threatened to cut her life short. But despite her long ordeal, from which she will never fully recover, Peanut continues to thrive more than 20 years later in her new role as educator.

Missouri Department of Conservation