A five day fight to save a severely ill whale ended in tragedy.
According to CNBC, a pilot whale was found in distress last week in a canal in Songkhla, Thailand. For five days veterinarians cared for the sea creature and tried to save its life.
Unfortunately, on Friday, the animal spat up five plastic bags and then died shortly after.
The Marine and Coastal Resources Department, who helped care for the whale, performed a necropsy following the whale’s death and found that the animal had consumed over 17 pounds of plastic.
Over 80 plastic bags were found in the whale’s stomach along with other plastic pieces.
Officials at the department believe the pilot whale, which often subsists on a diet of squid, ate the plastic after confusing the material for food. The large number of plastic items then sat in the whale’s stomach, making it sick and preventing it from being able to catch real food.
While the pilot whale’s early death is heartbreaking, the Marine and Coastal Resources Department wants to use it to create hope for the future. The department plans to raise awareness about the importance of World Oceans Day on June 8, using this recent death as an example of the future this planet faces without universal change.
