Hi John,

I'd like to tell you a sad but important story. An adorable 65-pound baby dugong was found on a beach in Southern Thailand in 2019. Baby Marium quickly captured the hearts of conservationists around the world.

Dugongs—a close relative of manatees—usually nurse for the first 18 months of their lives. But Mariam's mother was nowhere in sight.

Veterinarians began to care for the baby—hand-feeding her with a bottle. Wildlife experts worked to help her get strong enough to be released.

But Marium never made it back into the open sea. Just four months later, she died. An autopsy revealed that plastic had caused obstructions in her stomach and intestines, leading to inflammation and a respiratory infection.

While it's too late to save Marium... it's not too late to stop plastics from choking our planet.

Please help protect our planet's vulnerable wildlife and habitats with your gift today. Our work to end plastic pollution is just one of many critical conservation solutions that people like you make possible. With your support, we can protect the future of nature. We can't do it without you.

As the vice president of plastics initiatives here at WWF, I am so hopeful for our “No Plastic in Nature” campaign. Our ambitious and holistic work to end plastic pollution brings together partners from all over the world—companies, governments, and people—to make the solutions possible.

With you by our side, we are:

• Advocating for the UN Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution and state and federal policies in the US
  
  

• Helping businesses and cities stop the flow of plastic into nature
  
  

• Reducing abandoned fishing gear, a major threat to marine biodiversity
  
  

• Creating a safer world for wildlife

Marium's story reminds us how much is at stake... for wildlife, nature, and our planet. Will you help me and my colleagues make nature plastic-free by 2030?

Your donation today of $20 (or any amount) will support WWF’s critical mission and do a world of good! You'll protect nature from plastic pollution, stop deforestation, wildlife crime and many other threats, and conserve wildlife and wild places around the world.

For a future where people and nature thrive,

P.S. More than 100,000 marine mammals like Marium are killed by plastic debris each year. Will you join us today to help end plastic in nature and tackle other major environmental threats?

Please make your best gift today to protect our oceans and support WWF's critical conservation work around the world. Thank you.

All donations will support the breadth of WWF's critical conservation work around the globe.

Photo of Marium the dugong © Sirachai Arunrugstitchai/NPL/Minden Pictures