Most plastic bags have suffocation warnings on them, but that’s no good for whales who can’t read them.
Vets from Argentina’s Patagonian National Center (CENPAT) had to remove a giant plastic bag that could have suffocated a whale who was apparently “playing” — or, rather, struggling — with it, in waters off Puerto Madryn, Clarín reports.
Plastic bags have become a veritable ocean plague in recent decades, and frequently suffocate sea life who become entangled with them or ingest them.
CENPAT vet Carla Fiorito had been taking marine samples from a boat when she noticed a whale diving in and out of the sea with its head covered by a bag or plastic sheet. Staff on the CENPAT boat approached to remove it from the whale’s head, and the southern right whale was said to have remained unphased by the incident and continued its “languid” movements.
Whales congregate in these waters from May to December for reproduction and have become one of the area’s primary tourist attractions. Unfortunately, they do often come into contact with man-made objects such as bags or nets, Clarín reports.
Photo: garrettc via Flickr
