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Sperm Whale dies after swallowing 17kg of plastic

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Kinyou

Member
A dead sperm whale that washed up on Spain's south coast had swallowed 17kg of plastic waste dumped into the sea by farmers tending greenhouses that produce tomatoes and other vegetables for British supermarkets.

Scientists were amazed to find the 4.5 tonne whale had swallowed 59 different bits of plastic – most of it thick transparent sheeting used to build greenhouses in southern Almeria and Granada. A clothes hanger, an ice-cream tub and bits of mattress were also found.

The plastic had eventually blocked the animal's stomach and killed it, according to researchers from the Doñana national park research centre in Andalusia.

Researchers at first found it hard to believe that the 10-metre animal had swallowed the vast amount of plastic they found protruding through a tear in its stomach.

In all the whale's stomach contained two dozen pieces of transparent plastic, some plastic bags, nine metres of rope, two stretches of hosepipe, two small flower pots and a plastic spray canister.

All were typical of the closely packed Almeria greenhouses that cover about 40,000 hectares – and are clearly visible in satellite photographs taken from space.
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The oceans turning into garbage dumps is hardly anything new but this story still managed to shock me a little.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I imagine Pamela Anderson's obit will read the opposite. "Plastic whale dies after swallowing 17kg of sperm. "

Skyfall. Done.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Didn't a washed up whale explode while being transported in the 70s? Heard it's a tough thing to deal with because of all the gas buildup in such a big animal.

It's sad that we're having such a negative impact on out environment.
 
P

Polari

Member
Grizzlyjin said:
Didn't a washed up whale explode while being transported in the 70s? Heard it's a tough thing to deal with because of all the gas buildup in such a big animal.
Click to expand...

whale_spill_3.jpg


Someone had a bad day at work...
 
B

braves01

Banned
On the upside maybe CO2 emissions and increased ocean acidity will break the plastic down somehow, so the whales...can die due to the acidity instead.
 
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