A dead sperm whale was washed ashore in eastern Indonesia and its insides were full of plastic trash, including numerous plastic bags, drinking cups, plastic bottles, two flip flops, and a bag with more than thousands of string pieces.
The total weight of the plastic contents was 13.2 pounds!
The carcass was found in shallow waters off Kapota Island in the Wakatobi National Park. Even though they couldn’t find the reason for the whale’s death, what they saw was horrible.
Sperm Whales’ Bellies Full of Plastics
Normally, sperm whales eat giant squid, as well as fish, octopus, crab, and smaller sharks. But, in today’s world, their bellies are full of plastics.
They live in worldwide oceans and are unfortunately an endangered species and considered depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Who’s Polluting Our Oceans?
Unfortunately, Indonesia, with 263 million people and 34,000 miles of coastline are the second country after China on the list of the twenty top polluters of our oceans with plastics.
China has stopped purchasing plastic scrap from the rest of the world and shifted the world plastic garbage crisis to Southeast Asia.
For Indonesia’s minister of maritime affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, this whale should help in the spreading of awareness about the issue of plastic waste and the need for reduction of its use, especially of one-use plastics.
To that extent, the country’s government plans on lowering their plastic usage by 70 percent by 2025.
They have already urged shops to cease the providing of plastic bags to their customers. Also, they’ve launched an education programs throughout schools to teach children about plastic waste and its negative impact on the world we live in.
This Isn’t the First Ocean Creature with Plastics
Back in 2017, a dying pilot whale was discovered in the province of Songkhla near the border with Malaysia.
They’ve tried to revive the mammal for 5 days, but didn’t succeed. Just before it passed away, the animal spit out 5 plastic bags. Sadly, the autopsy discovered 80 other bags and pieces of plastic waste weighing 17 pounds.
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