The Euthanized Whale In Norway Had About 30 Plastic Bags In Its Stomach

Scientists found 30 plastic bags in the stomach of a euthanized goose-beaked whale on a Norwegian shore last Saturday. The whale was repeatedly beaching in the shallow waters off the island of Sotra and so ill that the zoologists decided to euthanize it and found the reason why.

During the necropsy, the researchers found the plastic that includes candy wrappers, smaller bread bags and other garbage. They theorize that the 20-ton whale may have thought that the plastic bags were squid it could eat.

Terje Lislevand, a University of Bergen zoologist, said that it was not like it was just part of the stomach. "It filled up the whole space." This could be the reason why the animal acted so strange and stranded. He thought that the whale was in serious pain for a long time. He added that the plastic particles accumulated and created a barrier in the system.

The United Nations estimates that about 8 million tons of plastic trash weare thrown into the ocean annually. Likewise, the World Economic Forum study showed that there are about 150 million tons of trash in the ocean today, according to The Huffington Post.

Many fish are found to have plastic or other garbage in their stomachs. In a 2015 study conducted by scientists at the University of California and in Indonesia, they found that one-quarter of fish samples in fish markets in California and Indonesia contained plastics or other garbage in their stomach.

The goose-beaked whale, also known as the Cuvier's beaked whale, belongs to the family of the genus Ziphius. Its body is cigar-shaped and grows to about 5 to 7 meters in length and weighs about 2,500 kg. It is known to have a strong body. It can easily be spotted and it prefers water in about 1,000 meters deep. It can be found in the North Pacific and the Southern Hemisphere as far as South Africa, New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego, Southern Australia and the Chatham Islands.