Marine biologists were deeply saddened upon discovering 29 lifeless sperm whales around the shore of North Sea Island in Germany last week, and their grief heightened further after finding out what were inside the animals’ stomachs. According to a press release from Wadden Sea National Park in Schleswig-Holstein, most of the whales had stomachs full of plastic debris—including a 13-meter-long fishing net, a 70-centimeter piece of plastic from a car and other pieces of plastic litter. The enormous marine creatures are believed to have mistakenly identified the items as food, such as squid, which is their main staple. In 2011, a young whale was found floating dead off the Greek island of Mykonos, Greece. However, once its four stomachs were dissected, nearly 100 plastic bags and other pieces of debris were discovered.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer August 23, 2016 03:22 UTC