Marine researchers and biologists in Italy made a disheartening discovery when the carcass of a 26-feet-long sperm whale washed up on a beach near Porto Cervo, a popular tourist spot in the northern part of Sardinia, Italy.
According to The Telegraph, the discovery happened at a private beach resort in Cala Romantica late last week. Members of the local fire department transported the young female whale inland on a truck so veterinarians and researchers from the city of Sassari and the University of Padua could perform an autopsy.
They found that the whale had been carrying a dead fetus as well as 49 pounds of plastic that included “garbage bags … fishing nets, lines, tubes, the bag of a washing machine liquid still identifiable, with brand and barcode … and other objects no longer identifiable,” Luca Bittau, president of the SeaMe group, told CNN.
“She was pregnant and had almost certainly aborted before (she) beached,” he said. “The fetus was in an advanced state of composition.”
Mattia Leone, a marine biologist who was present for the post-mortem exam, detailed the moment of shock to The Telegraph. “When we opened the stomach and saw all the plastic, we realized, yet again, we were bearing witness to this very worrisome, sad situation.”
Only a third of the whale’s stomach contained squid beaks, the leftovers from its favorite food.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lists “marine debris” as one of the main threats faced by sperm whales. They can mistakenly ingest debris as food, which can lead to injury or death
Last year another sperm whale was found dead after ingesting debris. A young male sperm whale that was found dead off the coast of Spain had ingested 64 pounds of garbage in its digestive system.
In the U.S., climate and environment advocates are worried about the findings from a study on debris that was released in June, 2018. Researchers from the University of Georgia suggested that an estimated 111 million metric tons of plastic waste could pile up by 2030, The Washington Post reported.
Scientist are not clear on the exact number of sperm whales worldwide, but it is estimated that its population ranges between 300,000 and 450,000 individuals. They are found in all deep oceans, from the equator to the poles, according to NOAA.
The sperm whale is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
