A whale died after it swallowed over 80 plastic bags, in southern Thai. The barely alive small male pilot whale was in a canal near the border with Malaysia the country’s department of marine and coastal resources were quoted as saying. To save the whale, every effort has been tried but eventually died on Friday afternoon. The mammal vomited up to five plastic bags during the four-day period when the rescuers battled to restore life and its health.
It was first spotted on Monday and people used buoys to keep it afloat in the rescue attempt while an umbrella was used as shelter from harsh sunlight. The veterinary team tried “to help stabilised its illness” but eventually, the whale died.
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According to the autopsy, it was clarified that the whale has 80 plastic bags weighing up to 8kgs in its stomach, as per a report. The plastic bags made it extremely difficult for the whale to digest anything of nutritional value, said Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist, and Lecturer at Kasetsart University.
At least 300 marine animals, including pilot whales, sea turtles, and dolphins, died each year in Thai waters after engulfing the plastics.”It’s a huge problem. We use a lot of plastic,” Mr. Thamrongnawasawat was quoted.
While the plight of the whale garnered huge sympathy as well as anger from the Twitterati of Thailand, it remains one of the world’s top-five plastic polluters, according to a report by the nonprofit environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy.
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