Storyful
A sperm whale that washed up on the Hawaiian island of Kauai was found to have fishing nets, plastic bags, and various traps inside its stomach, according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).The 56-foot whale was examined by researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa Health and Stranding Lab, who spent 15 hours investigating the cause of death, the Hawaii DLNR said.“In addition to squid beaks, fish skeletons and other prey remains, we found at least six hagfish traps and we also found significant amounts of at least seven types of fishing net, at least two types of plastic bags, a light protector, fishing line and a float from a net,” Dr Kristi West, director of the Health and Stranding Lab, said. “We did find a number of things in the stomach of the sperm whale that may have contributed to its death and are certainly disturbing.”Researchers believe the manmade debris may have caused a blockage which contributed to the whale’s death.“We are only able to examine a small number of our dolphins and whales that die in our waters, and we think that each individual we are able to examine represents as many of 20 other animals who are likely to ultimately die from these types of impacts,” West said. “It’s heartbreaking to see this kind of destruction in an individual animal.” Credit: Hawaii DLNR via Storyful
