Plastic, pants found in dead whale

Stomach contents reveal dangers of 'industrial' dining

Cascadia Research Collective This plastic bag was among the trash items found inside the gray whale that died on a West Seattle beach.  View related photos

Most of the whale's stomach contents was algae — typical of the bottom-feeding mammals. But Cascadia Research Collective, whose experts were among those who performed the necropsy, said "a surprising amount of human debris" was found, including "more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape, and a golf ball."

On top of all that, the whale "also had cuts on the head possibly from a boat propeller," the group said in a statement. It added, though, that "these did not appear fresh or deep enough to have been involved in the death of the animal."

 

 

Cascadia emphasized that no evidence suggested the trash was responsible for the whale's death, but added: "It did clearly indicate that the whale had been attempting to feed in industrial waters and therefore exposed to debris and contaminants present on the bottom in these areas."

Cascadia Research Collective This golf ball was found inside the gray whale.   More: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36664196/ns/us_news-environment/

"Gray whales are filter feeders that typically feed on the bottom and suck in sediment in shallow waters and filter the contents to strain out the small organisms that live there," Cascadia said. "They have been known to accumulate material including rocks and other debris from the bottom ingested in this process. While debris has been found in the stomachs of some previous gray whales found dead in Puget Sound, this appeared to be a larger quantity than had ever been found previously."

Cascadia co-founder John Calambokidis, a biologist, said the debris was a reminder of human impacts below the water.