The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources says a dead Bruda whale found floating off the coast of Phuket had swallowed a plastic cup. The 13 metre long carcass of the female whale was found in Laem Say Bay, near Koh Racha, on Saturday.
The island’s network for marine resources conservation notified the Upper Andaman Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre and two boats were dispatched to tow the whale’s carcass to Phuket, where an autopsy has been carried out.
According to a Nation Thailand report, Atthapol Charoenchansa, director-general of the DMCR, says the autopsy revealed the whale had swallowed a plastic cup. It’s not known if the cup blocked the marine creature’s digestive tract and the cause of death has not been confirmed.
It’s understood the autopsy was unable to establish an exact cause of death due to the whale’s organs being badly decomposed. The autopsy also revealed parasites in the whale’s intestines and it had also swallowed two Nipa palm fruits, which are not normally part of its diet.
Atthapol says that even if the cup did not directly cause the whale’s death, people should refrain from throwing their rubbish in the sea. He says the public should instead help to collect any litter or debris they find floating in the sea and call the 24-hour hotline, 1362, to report anyone they see throwing rubbish into the sea.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
