A young male sperm whale that was found dead off the coast of Spain had 30 kilograms of garbage in its digestive system.
The carcass of the 10-metre whale surfaced in February near a lighthouse in Cabo de Palos on Spain's south-eastern coast.
A dead female sperm whale on Grand Isle, Louisiana, last year. Photo: AP
A necropsy revealed that the mammal had trash bags, polypropylene sacks, ropes, net segments and a drum, among other things, in its stomach and intestines.
Local authorities said the animal died because of inflammation of the abdominal lining, or peritonitis. The amount of human trash in its system had become so enormous that the whale was unable to expel the garbage from its digestive system.
purpletopo on April 12nd, 2018 at 11:11 UTC »
This is saddening but not surprising. The ocean is littered with garbage so much that there are now Trash Vortexes.
It isn't just whales eating trash either, there were several articles that outlined how seabirds, especially Albatrosses and seagulls, were found with a disproportionate amount of trash in their stomachs. Many birds even had their chicks die because all they could find to eat was trash, which did not get digested. So it either sat in their stomachs, weighing them down/starving them, or they regurgitated it to their chicks, which died of malnutrition.
This is a serious problem that really really needs more attention.
SupSoggySpackleSmock on April 12nd, 2018 at 09:13 UTC »
Each EU citizen creates an average of 31kg of plastic per year. That’s how much it took to kill one of the largest creatures on earth. Almost every dead seabird I’ve found on the beach the last few years has been full of plastic trash. My water has micro plastic in it. This is a unbelievably huge problem. (Sorry EU, you’re just an example) https://www.statista.com/chart/12425/eu-plastic-waste/
Progresspanda on April 12nd, 2018 at 09:11 UTC »
Pretty much exactly what they'll put in the newspaper when I die.