Washed Up Whale Found with Gallons of Our Garbage In Its Gut : TreeHugger

Washed Up Whale Found with Gallons of Our Garbage In Its Gut : TreeHugger: "Chris Jordan documents animals ingesting plastic, with fatal consequences

According to Cascadia Research Collective, 50 gallons of stomach contents were sorted through. Most of it was real food - algae and other bits common to a gray whale diet - but also included were more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape, and a golf ball.

If there were any doubt before, there is none now - the ocean has become a landfill. However, if there's a bit of a silver lining, the trash made up just about 2% of the total contents, and it doesn't seem to have been the cause of death. But what Cascadia Research points out, '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.'

Gray whales are bottom feeders and get their nutrition from the sediments in shallow waters."