University of Hawaii researchers suspect the amount of plastic found in a dead whale's stomach caused a lethal blockage.
RELATED: California whale watchers capture gray whale giving birth on video
A whale that washed ashore in Hawaii over the weekend likely died in part because it ate large volumes of fishing traps, fishing nets, plastic bags and other marine debris, scientists said Thursday, highlighting the threat to wildlife from the millions of tons of plastic that ends up in oceans every year.
The body of the 56-foot long, 120,000-pound animal was first noticed on a reef off Kauai on Friday. High tide brought it ashore on Saturday.
Kristi West, the director of the University of Hawaii's Health and Stranding Lab, said there were enough foreign objects in the opening of the whale's intestinal tract to block food.
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#whale #pollution
Crazy
so sad
Wow!
Don’t people ever learn put the plastic in the bin otherwise this is what you get . Shame on you people for being so lazy . So sorry baby for you to end up like this because of human ignorance Xx❤️
Most of this waste is from the fishing industry. Big corps mess.
Sad💔❣️😭
Nice Going
Sad 😢
😭😭😭
Lydgate Beach, Kaua’i.
お疲れ様ご苦労様です大変でしたね大丈夫ですか次も犠牲が出ると考えられると思います世界的に話ましょう
Commercial and “recreational” fisherman should be held accountable for retrieving equipment.
How can fisherman be held accountable when cruise ships dump enough for 100s of cities. Disgusting.