Marli’s Tangled Tale – Sustainable Children’s Book

Marli’s True Story

The little puffin which inspired the story of Marli was discovered by a Whitby Whale Watching boat in 2017 floating in the open ocean. The boat operators saw a commotion in the water and after going over to investigate they were horrified to discover a small puffin swimming around in circles with metres of ribbon tangled around her attached to three half deflated balloons. They were able to scoop her up in a net and after several minutes of careful cutting, with a whole crowd of onlookers, the puffin was released back over the side of the boat and happily flew away.

The puffin in Marli’s story is not quite so lucky and needs a bit more care from people at the Wildlife Sanctuary. Many types of animals are brought here to recover from a whole variety of illnesses and injuries but sadly more and more wildlife is being brought in after eating or getting caught in balloons and ribbons.

It is not just seabirds that are affected by this form of litter, any animal can be in trouble from local woodland animals such as owls, foxes and rabbits, to domestic animals like cows, horses and sheep to all types of marine creatures, in particular sea turtles who often mistake burst balloons for jellyfish.

Wildlife Sanctuaries are temporary or permanent homes for animals with the hope that most can be released back into their natural environment after a period of recovery and rehabilitation. Sometimes the animals require a high level of care or in the case of Marli, a few days of rest and food are all that is needed before their release.

The Wild Tribe Heroes books are a collection of gentle and engaging true stories about animals that find themselves in trouble when their lives are affected by plastic in the oceans or palm oil deforestation. Follow each one of our heroes to see what happens, how they are saved and what you can do to help them!

These books are a little different from your normal children’s book.  Not only are they great children’s books in their own right but there is also a powerful message behind each story passed on in a gentle way. Children and adults alike will love these books and feel inspired to make positive changes to their own lives and their communities.

The Wild Tribe Heroes books have received personal letters of congratulations from Sir David Attenborough and Prince Charles who are both extremely concerned about the issue of ocean plastics and are doing everything they can to help raise awareness.