A nonwoven mask was found in the excrement of a green turtle caught in August off Iwate Prefecture, according to a research group from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and the University of Tokyo.
According to a report published by the group in an academic journal, the mask is made of polypropylene and more than 80% of the excrement was man-made substances such as plastic.
Cases of turtles swallowing plastic have been confirmed before, but a nonwoven mask has never been found in their excrement, the group said.
