220 Pounds of Trash Discovered in Dead Sperm Whale’s Stomach

A sperm whale that washed up on the shores of a Scottish island last week was discovered to have 220 pounds of trash in its stomach. As CNN reports via the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, the young whale died last week after it washed up on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. During the necropsy for the whale, a big ball of debris was discovered in its stomach.

The garbage included fishing nets, plastic cups, and tubing. The SMASS added, however, that there was no evidence the trash blocked its intestines. “This amount of plastic in the stomach is nonetheless horrific, must have compromised digestion, and serves to demonstrate, yet again, the hazards that marine litter and lost or discarded fishing gear can cause to marine life.” The sperm whale was burried on the beach as it could not be moved. 

Earlier this year, a similiar case happened when a young sperm whale washed up on the shores of Cefalu, Sicily. “As you can see from the images we’re sharing, a lot of plastic was found in its stomach,” said Giorgia Monti of Greenpeace Italia in a statement. “A probe of the sperm whale’s death has just started and we don’t know yet if the animal died because of this, but we certainly can’t pretend that nothing is happening. … Five sperm whales beached on Italian coasts in the last five months.”