Environmentalists recently expressed their anger over the discovery of 16-kilogram plastic waste inside a dead whale's stomach.
According to a Newsweek report, a cetacean, a female Cuvier's beaked whale with a measurement of a little more than five meters long, washed up on a Messanges beach in southwest France, located on the Atlantic coast.
The partially decomposed corpse of the whale was discovered by passers-by on May 8, and an autopsy that the environmental conservation groups, Pelagis Observatory and Itsas Arima performed came out with a conclusion that the animal's ingestion of a massive quantity of plastic products resulted in its death.
Part of the 16-kilogram plastic waste discovered inside the stomach of the dead while were plastic shopping bags, crisp wrappers, and packets of pasta.
Whale Suffered from Parasitic Condition
The stranding network coordinator of Pelagis, Willy Dabin explained, this plastic waste lines the walls of the stomach and intestines, which can result in blockages and stop nutrients from entering the blood.
Meanwhile, a correspondent from Pelagis, Pascal Ducasse, expressed his anger at what happened and said, it is not normal, or abnormal, for an animal to die that way. This, he added, is the very first time that he has seen, in seven years of activity.
A similar report from Teller Report specified that based on the autopsy performed as part of an investigation of the whale's death, the animal had been suffering from a parasitic condition that impacted its kidneys, and which would have had a substantial effect on its hunting undertakings.
Cuvier's beaked whales are famous for their being active hunters, diving thousands of feet underneath the surface in search of different species of squid, deep-sea fish, as well as other prey.
However, experts believe that the whale's illness would have reduced or melted down this particular animal no longer capable of hunting for food in its unique way. Rather, it would have eaten or provided for with whatever it could find near the surface of the water.
'Plastics in Her Stomach'
Also according to Pelagis, most species or types of sea creatures are affected by waste, specifically plastic waste, with turtles frequently mistaking plastic products and materials for jellyfish.
Nevertheless, cetaceans are inclined to ingest plastics, as well as other waste products through the so-called bio-accumulation, where they accidentally or innocently eat prey that has swallowed plastic, itself.
In a Facebook post, Itsas Arima said, a dolphin knows how to identify a piece of plastic not like a turtle for instance.
However, the Facebook post also specified, in this circumstance, no one can explain that there were so many, 16-kilo grams, in fact, in her stomach, fed directly.
The environmental conservationists found that the whale was skinny and it had major parasitic conditions that caused her to weaken, perhaps, preventing it from continuing to normally feed itself.
Therefore, added Itsas Arima on its post, the whale backed up on what was around her and what she came across with human trash.
Even though the whale may have died, resulting from its disease alone, the experts firmly believe that it is her consumption or eating of the plastic that substantially fast-tracked her death.
A similar report is shown on South China Morning Post's YouTube video below:
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