How Many More Must Die?
AP via Newsflare
They resemble large pieces of beef jerky. But they are the 80 or so plastic bags jerked from the digestive tract of a male pilot whale that recently died from eating the floating trash.
It’s sad to think such magnificent creatures can succumb to something as innocuous as a plastic bag, yet sea creatures worldwide are under siege by plastic pollution. Until man comes to his senses and finds a more eco-friendly approach to manufacturing the situation will get worse.
This latest tragedy took place off the coast of Thailand near Malaysia. But it could have happened off the Carolinas or California. Our oceans are teeming with huge masses of plastic trash – everything from drinking straws to six-pack holders to shopping bags.
According to a New York Post feature, a post-mortem on the whale turned up about 3 pounds of the plastic mess pictured above. The bags gummed up the works and prevented the whale from eating nutritious food.
“If you have 80 plastic bags in your stomach, you die. It’s a huge problem. We use a lot of plastic” said marine biologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat.
Experts estimate as many as 300 marine animals – including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins – die each year off Thailand after swallowing plastic items.
Thailand joins China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam as the top-five nations for plastic pollution.