Emaciated Whale Washes Up On Shore with 40 Kgs of Plastic Trash in Its Stomach

9The plastic had started to calcify

Cetaceans like the Cuvier beaked whale do not drink water from the ocean and require fresh water from food sources. The whale fell extremely ill because of the huge amount of plastic ingestion and soon began to starve. Lack of water and food led to dehydration and its ultimate demise. Blatchley said the plastic garbage had actually begun to calcify inside the whale’s gut.

10Not the first whale to have succumbed to plastic poison

The Philippines may be a very proud nation but they are by no means a model nation when it comes to marine pollution. The Museum on its social media account said “ it’s disgusting. Action must be taken by the government against those who continue to treat the waterways and ocean as dumpsters.”

Just four months ago, a sperm whale washed up on the Indonesian shore dead. It was found to have ingested almost 6 kg of plastic in its stomachs that included flip flops and drinking cups. Another whale washed up dead on Thailand found 80 pieces of plastic trash weighing 8 kg in its stomach.

11The worst offenders of marine plastic pollution

The Philippines incidentally is the worst offender in the world when it comes to polluting the oceans with plastic. Statistics as far back as 2010 show that the country pumped 0.83 million tons of plastic into the world’s oceans. The 5 biggest contributors to plastic pollution in the oceans are China, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. The D’Bone collector museum hopes to put the skeleton of the whale on display as a symbol that they hope will generate awareness and also be a symbol of the problem of plastic pollution.

12The three offenders account for 60% of the world’s plastic pollution in oceans

According to Greenpeace, the top three contributors to plastic pollution in the oceans are China, Indonesia and Philippines. Along with Thailand and Vietnam, they account for 60% of the total plastic waste in the world that ends up in our oceans.

13A horrible reality that needs immediate action

Plastic pollution is by far one of the deadliest type of pollution choking the oceans and seas. Heartbreaking images have cropped up across the internet and social media showing how marine life is affected by such atrocities. Species like turtles live with plastic nets choking them every day. Various marine life have their bodies tied by plastic which they cannot get out of. The problem is when these countries will wake up to the problem.