Earlier this year, a baby sperm whale washed up on a beach in southern Spain. Scientists rushed in to investigate — and what they discovered left them horrified.
Inside its stomach?
Over 66 pounds (30 kg) of plastic.
🛍️ Plastic bags
🥤 Straw wrappers
🪢 Fishing nets
🧵 Twine
🚰 A water container
🎣 Even a rope from a drum
These foreign objects replaced the whale’s natural diet of squid and fish — clogging its stomach and likely causing a deadly digestive blockage.
“This is one of the greatest threats to marine life,” said Consuelo Rosauro, Murcia’s Environment Director. “So many animals die either entangled in plastic or with stomachs full of it.”
The 10-meter-long whale died not of natural causes — but of the plastic humans throw away.
A heartbreaking reminder:
Our ocean is drowning in waste.
And the creatures in it are paying the price.