Garbage found in body of beached whale
A dead gray whale lies on the beach at the Arroyo Beach neighborhood, April 15, 2010 in West Seattle. It's reportedly the fifth dead gray whale found this month - four in Puget Sound waters and the fifth near Vancouver, British Columbia. Credit: AP
Biologists who examined a gray whale that died after getting stranded on a West Seattle beach say it had a large amount of garbage in its stomach — ranging from a pair of sweat pants to a golf ball.
The scientists say most of the whale’s stomach contents was
algae — typical of the bottom-feeding mammals. But they say a
surprising amount of human debris was found. Besides the pants and
golf ball, there were more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, duct
tape and surgical gloves.
The 37-foot whale beached itself last Wednesday.
