We humans, really need to think about the future of the planet because things are certainly not looking great. Almost every day we read/hear about an innocent creature dying because of our negligence towards the environment. This time, yet another case has come to light.
A sperm whale was found dead with 220 pounds (100 kgs) of plastic trash in its stomach. It is believed that the whale beached (stranded) itself and died on a northern Scottish island on 28th November, however, his carcass was found several days later washed up on the beach.
Marine researchers who conducted a necropsy on the dead mammal found nets, cups, bags, rope, packing straps, tubing and other harmful debris inside his gut. Shameful! The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS), who were responsible for performing the necropsy said,
All this material was in a huge ball in the stomach and some of it it looked like it had been there for some time. When the whale was cut open, “most of the guts blew out of the side” due to the body decomposing quickly.
After investigating the matter, researchers said the trash probably came from “both the land and fishing sectors” and could have been swallowed anywhere from Norway to Azores. The whale was later buried on the beach because it could not be moved due to its size and location.
The sad part is, according to SMASS, reports of dolphin and whale strandings have been on the rise in Scotland and if we don’t do anything about the plastic waste that is being produced in large quantities, things are going to continue to be this way and may even worsen.
It’s high time, we reflect on what we are doing to this planet and its creatures?