No, you don't need to send me your ai file. I know exactly why you have that problem.
It is the lines (strokes) have been expanded, because I can see the outline of the stroke on your turtle drawing.
Strokes that have not been expanded do not have the outlines. I worked, for many years with Clipping mask, in fact I developed a plugin to simplify that process. But if you want to send me your ai file, feel free to do so.
Vincent