MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Eight-meter sperm whale found dead in Sardinia with 22kgs of plastic in its belly


The cuvier's beaked whale died in the southern province of Compostela Valley where it was stranded a day earlier

An eight-meter sperm whale was found dead off the Italian island of Sardinia with 22kg of plastic in its belly, AP reported on Tuesday. The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) sounded the alarm over plastics in the Mediterranean Sea following the finding.

The environmental organization said on Monday the garbage recovered in the sperm whale's stomach included a corrugated tube for electrical works, plastic plates, shopping bags, tangled fishing lines and a washing detergent package with the brand and bar code still legible.

AP added that the female whale beached off the northern coast of Sardinia last week.

WWF said plastic is one of the greatest threats to marine life and has killed at least five other whales around the world in the last two years.

Just last month, a starving whale with 40 kilos of plastic waste in its stomach died after being washed ashore in the Philippines.

Activists called it one of the worst cases of poisoning they have seen.

The cuvier's beaked whale died in the southern province of Compostela Valley where it was stranded a day earlier.

In November last year, a sperm whale found dead in a national park in Indonesia had nearly 6kg of plastic waste, including 115 cups. The 9.5m whale was found in waters near Kapota Island, part of the Wakatobi National Park, south east of Sulawesi.

In June, the death of a pilot whale in Thailand with 80 pieces of plastic rubbish in its stomach garnered headlines locally, but drew more attention outside the country.