Debbie-lee Cheetham found a lizard stuck to a “Fragile” shipping sticker; she spent several minutes working to free the lizard from the sticker.
Johannesburg, South Africa (31 January 2022) – Debbie-lee Cheetham found a lizard stuck to a label and quickly tried to save it. She used coconut oil, a paintbrush and many kind words to free the lizard. She shared the incredible rescue on the ‘SA Butterflies, Bugs, Bees and other Small Things‘ group.
The “SA Butterflies, Bugs, Bees and other Small Things” group was created to help South Africans identify and celebrate the smaller creatures that call our country home.
Debbie-lee has been part of the group since 2016 and has always celebrated the small creatures she finds in her home and garden.
She shared the post about the lizard, hoping that it would be a teachable moment for many. Not only did she share it on social media, but she also sent it along to her children’s school, where it was used during a lesson about litter.
“A great teachable moment we had the other day… about how litter affects the environment. Found this poor guy.. he was completely stuck to a sticky label – Like really stuck. Unable to move. I used coconut oil and a paintbrush and worked for about 20 minutes, gently brushing it around him until it gradually dissolved the adhesive and managed to get him free. I sent the video to the kid’s school, and they have shared it with all the kids to teach them about litter.”
Thankfully, Debby-lee could free the lizard and release it safely into her garden. Had Debbie-lee not found the lizard, it would have suffered terribly. We often encounter sticky labels in everyday life. Most delivery services use sticky labels and stickers to seal boxes or share messages like “fragile” or “this way up”. Being aware of these small stickers and how they could potentially hurt small creatures is vital and often overlooked. We thank Debbie-lee for giving us all a sobering reminder.
So next time you get your online order, just make sure all the stickers and tape are properly disposed of.
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