Fears as UK killer whale Lulu died with ‘highest ever toxic pollutant levels’
One of Britain's last killer whales had 'extreme levels of toxic pollutants' which left her infertile
ONE of Britain's last remaining Orca whales died with "extreme levels of toxic pollutants", a post mortem found.
Lulu washed ashore a Scottish island back in 2016 - leaving just eight of her kind behind.
But an analysis published on Wednesday revealed that Lulu had level of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were more than 100 times the safe limit.
Lulu had 950mg/kg of the banned substance in her blubber.
Scientists now fear that the eight remaining whales in her pod are also contaminated.
PCBs were banned in the 1970s but continue to wreak havoc on our environment.
Simon Walmsley, WWF’s Oceans Manager said: "The shockingly high levels of PCB contamination found in Lulu, the UK killer whale are another tragic example of the impact that we are having on nature.
"Such high levels of pollution in our oceans, rivers and atmosphere cannot be ignored.
"This requires action and it requires it fast. We must learn the lessons from these legacy pollutants and not release such contaminants into the environment without a clear understanding of the lasting impacts.
"In this case PCBs will stay in the environment and continue to pollute for many decades.
"We are on track to lose two-thirds of wildlife by 2020 and a large driver of this is the way we treat the planet. The results of this analysis must act as a reminder that it is imperative that we continue to strive to find a way that 7bn people can live on our planet without trashing it."
Lulu never gave birth and was likely infertile, the post mortem found.
She was part of a pod called the West Coast Community and left behind Nicola, Moneypenny, Floppy Fin, John Coe, Comet, Aquarius, Puffin and Occasus.
The WWF added that the latest findings "add to strong evidence that the pod is doomed to extinction."
The last ever killer whale to be born into controversial theme park SeaWorld in Texas was recently captured on camera.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368