Marine biologists examining a sperm whale that stranded itself on an island in Scotland found a massive, 220-pound “litter ball” in the animal’s stomach, the BBC reported .
Experts said it wasn’t immediately clear if the debris caused the whale’s death.
The Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme responded after locals discovered the whale on Luskentyre beach on the Isle of Harris, saying they arrived about 48 hours after the whale died.
“The animal wasn’t in particularly poor condition, and whilst it is certainly plausible that this amount of debris was a factor in its live stranding, we actually couldn’t find evidence that this had impacted or obstructed the intestines,” a Facebook post from the group read.
Among the debris in the whale’s stomach were fishing nets, ropes, bags, gloves, packing straps, and plastic cups.
Although they couldn’t say for sure that the debris caused the whale’s death, “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 SMASS wrote.
“It is also perhaps a good example that this is a global issue caused by a whole host of human activities. This whale had debris in its stomach which seemed to have originated from both the land and fishing sectors, and could have been swallowed at any point between Norway and the Azores.”
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Locals were shaken by the discovery.
Dan Parry of Luskentyre told the BBC that “It was desperately sad, especially when you saw the fishing nets and debris that came out of its stomach.
“We walk on these beaches nearly every day and I always take a bag to pick up litter, most of which is fishing related. This stuff could have easily been netting or the like lost in a storm, we just don’t know, but it does show the scale of the problem we have with marine pollution.”
Locals and the coast guard helped bury the whale after the necropsy was complete.
Considering it weighed in at more than 20 tons, it couldn’t just be moved or towed out to sea, and it’s hoped that the beach will bear no indications that a large whale necropsy had taken place there.
The SMASS figures that strandings in Scotland are on the rise.
In 2009, the group recorded 204 reports of strandings, which had risen to 930 in 2018.
h/t: BBC
