In southern Thailand a small male pilot whale has died after
swallowing more than 80 plastic bags.
The whale was discovered
barely alive and vomited up five bags while rescuers struggled to spare to
save it over four days, marine officials said.
After death examination uncovered 80 plastic bags, weighing
up to 1st 3lb, in the creature's stomach.
The bags had made it impossible for the whale to eat any
nutritional food, said Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist.
"If you have 80 plastic bags in your stomach, you
die," he said.
Each year at least 300 marine animals like pilot whales, sea
turtles and dolphins die in Thai waters after ingesting plastic, he added.
"It's a huge problem. We use a lot of plastic."
Thailand is one of the world's top-five plastic polluters
according to last year Ocean Conservancy alongside China, Indonesia, the
Philippines and Vietnam.
Together these nations are responsible for more than half of
the plastic that washes into the ocean every year – thought to be between eight
and 13 million tonnes.
The pilot whale was found on Monday in a canal close to the
border with Malaysia, Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources
said on Facebook.
Rescuers had to use buoys to keep the mammal above water,
while a sunshade was set up to protect it from the blasting sun. It died yesterday.
