Taronga’s Mav, the seal, and Michie, the Sea-lion, showed all of us today just how easy it is to stop rubbish getting into the waterways.

They were helping launch Keep Australia Beautiful week at the Zoo’s Ausgrid Seal Show amphitheatre.

Michie, the Californian Sea-lion, demonstrated just how easy it is for rubbish to kill marine life when he  did the special routine from Taronga Seal Show involving abandoned netting getting caught around a seal’s throat with terrible consequences.

He then grabbed a piece of mock litter and dropped it in a bin just to show how easy it is to look after the environment.

It’s pretty scary to see that a bit of abandoned net that a seal might play with, can easily become a danger if they get caught up in it.

Keep Australia Beautiful ambassador, Lyndsey Rodrigues, also met Mav the NZ Fur Seal, discovering just how magnificent these mammals are. Mav  enjoyed a good scratch from Lyndsey,  bellowing his delight.

Lyndsey  said the Keep Australia Beautiful message fitted perfectly with Taronga’s messages about protecting wildlife because by simply keeping rubbish out of our environment, it’s safer and more attractive for people and animals too.

Taronga’s inaugural Green Grant Winners, the Take 3 campaign, encourages people everywhere to pick-up three pieces of rubbish, especially at the beach or local waterway, stopping it getting into the water and becoming a problem.

By Mark, Taronga Media Relations.