If, as the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach maintained, "we are what we eat", the pilot whale (Globicephala) that died in southern Thailand was nothing but plastic. Inside the stomach of the unfortunate cetacean, more than eighty plastic bags were found, weighing a total of around eight kilograms.

Plastic kills

The pilot whale, a young male, was found in its death throes on 28 May in the Na Thap canal, near the border with Malaysia, according to Thai navy officials. For about a week, vets and volunteers tried to help the animal, keeping it afloat with buoys, shielding it from the sun and attempting to feed it, but to no avail.

Too much plastic in the stomach

During the rescue attempts, the pilot whale vomited up five plastic bags, but its stomach was full of them and it was not enough. The abnormal quantity of plastic in its body prevented the animal from feeding and led to its death. "If you have 80 plastic bags in your stomach, you die," said Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist and lecturer at Kasetsart University, in no uncertain terms.

Plastic is killing the oceans

Plastic is one of the main threats to the oceans, which have gone from being the cradle of life to humanity's dumping ground. A 2015 study found that 90 per cent of seabirds around the world have plastic waste in their stomachs. Thailand, in particular, is one of the world's largest consumers of plastic bags. Every year, Thon Thamrongnawasawat explained, at least three hundred marine animals — including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins — die in Thai waters after ingesting plastic waste.