May 15th was Endangered Species Day, which was established 15 years ago to raise awareness about the living things that are most at risk. In the United States, over 1,300 plants, crustaceans, insects, reptiles, mammals, and others are listed as endangered. While many people think of deer as being quite common, several species are actually threatened with extinction. Unfortunately, the cervidae that I create with unmodified marine plastics found on San Diego County beaches, will exist forever in some form.

One deer species that is on the endangered species list is the Key deer. Key deer are named for the Florida Keys where they live—and swim between islands. They have rebounded from a low of 25 in the 1950s to a population estimated to be fewer than 1,000 today.

This recovery is in part due to the establishment of the National Key Deer Refuge, but threats still remain, including habitat loss and climate change. In addition, Key deer, also known as “toy deer,” are small (between 24-32 inches tall), and visitors to the area are prone to feeding them, which makes them less afraid of humans and more vulnerable to harm.

There are common sense things we can do to protect Key deer and all wild animals, such as not feeding them, and even during the pandemic, we can also take action to ensure that deer made with marine plastic eventually do become extinct.

• Use bar soap, instead of liquid soap
• Purchase hand sanitizer for refills from a local distillery
• Refuse plastic cutlery and other unecessary single-use plastic items when ordering take-out and/or when using restaurant delivery services
• Sign up for a CSA produce box program through a local farm and/or shop for produce at a farmers market
• Put groceries back in the cart after paying, and load them into your own reusable bags at the car

Please leave a reply with your suggestions for reducing single-use plastics while staying safe and healthy during the Covid-19 crisis.

Use bar soap instead of liquid soap.