The sperm whale is not dead of plastic but of pneumonia

The weakened sperm whale that was stranded in Den Helder last week died of an inflammation of both lungs. Long-term pneumonia is probably also the reason why the animal has been lost and found in the North Sea.

According to researcher Lonneke IJsseldijk of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Utrecht. She found no plastic in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal. "There was in fact nothing at all, just a small piece of food in the last part of the intestines, the animal had not eaten for a long time."

Only to die

Last week, IJsseldijk, at NH News, had already withdrawn the tentative conclusion that the "sperm whale number 10", as she indicated, had succumbed to pneumonia. After further research, IJsseldijk now thinks he knows what happened in the last days before his death. "The animal was very sick and so left the regular migration route of the herd, that is a bit of speculation if he did it to die alone or because he was not sure. he was too weak to continue swimming. "

While he is aware of the consequences of plastic waste for life in the sea, IJsseldijk when cutting into the gastrointestinal system of "number 10" has encountered no plastics. "In three of the five sperm whales that failed in Texel last year, plastic was used, but not in the animal that failed in Domburg in December."

Annual Dental Rings

IJsseldijk also wants to know how the animal's pneumonia contracted and whether it was a bacterial or viral inflammation. The age of the sperm whale is not yet known. "We already know that he was a little older, because he was so tall, but to determine exactly his age, we have to look at one of his teeth, a sperm whale has rings in it." the teeth, we can understand its age, sperm whales can be over 60 years old. "