One day back in the late 1980s, a small, young red-eared slider turtle was slowly moving along his way when he got stuck in a plastic ring from a six-pack that someone had thrown on the ground instead of a trashcan. The ring got hung on his shell.
Four or five years passed and the turtle grew but the ring did not. Eventually, his shell grew around the plastic ring but stayed small where the ring was wrapped around him.
In 1993, when he was about 9-years of age, someone found the turtle and took him to the St. Louis Zoo where staff removed the ring. They also discovered that he had some internal damage to his lungs from the constriction of the ring. He was named Peanut because of the shape of his damaged shell. The Zoo then gave him to the Missouri Department of Conservation where he became and remains the mascot for the state’s No MOre Trash! litter prevention and clean-up campaign.
No MOre Trash! is coordinated by the Missouri Departments of Conservation and Transportation.
Peanut is still doing well as he enters his 30s, and continues to grow. His damaged shell remains as a reminder of the damage that litter can do.
Peanut In the News
See Peanut the Turtle in this KPLR-11 news segment.