The weekly weird
Whale dies with plastic bags stuck in its stomach
Throwing plastic bags and other rubbish in the sea can be lethal to the innocent marine life. And recently, a dying whale was discovered off the coast of western Norway with more than 30 plastic bags in its stomach.
Researchers were horrified when they found the poor mammal suffering off the island of Sotra, after beaching in shallow water, and wardens were forced to put it down.
When scientists opened up and analysed the whale’s stomach, they found it full of plastic waste. The beaked whale was also emaciated and had very little blubber — suggesting that it was badly malnourished.
Researchers from the University of Bergen said that although the whale’s death was tragic, it was unsurprising given the amount of plastic waste being dumped in the sea.
A zoologist who studied the whale added that the whale’s intestines were likely blocked up by the build-up of the plastic, which would have caused severe pain.
Hummingbird egg stops upgrades to a bridge
A tiny unborn hummingbird is getting in the way of a big bridge project in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The discovery of a nest with an egg in a tree is stalling the start of upgrades on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge about 30 miles north of San Francisco, officials said. The species, Anna’s Hummingbird, is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that forbids the removal of the egg and offers other protections to birds.
The nest, about half the size of a fist, was discovered when work was set to begin. It was found on the Richmond side of the $70 million bridge project, in one of about two dozen trees that were to be removed to widen the freeway, officials said.