The carcass of a 31-foot sperm whale washed ashore in the Southeast Sulawesi province in eastern Indonesia late Monday night. The contents of its stomach were disgusting, but not in the way you may be thinking.
The whale's body was rescued by people from Wakatobi National Park.
Members of the park's conservation academy, along with researchers from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), discovered the whale had approximately 13 pounds of plastic waste in its stomach.
The plastic contents included 115 plastic cups, 4 plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, 2 flip-flops, a nylon sack, and of 1,000 other pieces of assorted plastic.
Dwi Suprapti, a marine species conservation coordinator at WWF, said:
"Although we have not been able to deduce the cause of death, the facts that we see are truly awful."
It is unclear whether or not the plastic consumption was the cause of death or a disturbing complication.
Indonesia's maritime affairs minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, hopes the whale will highlight the need to reduce plastic use.
"I'm so sad to hear this. It is possible that many other marine animals are also contaminated with plastic waste and this is very dangerous for our lives."
A picture editor at Red Bulletin Magazine posted pictures of the whale and its stomach contents.
A stranded whale was found in Indonesia with more than 1,000 plastic pieces in its stomach #endplasticpollution… https://t.co/Opw8k21kJA— Tahira Mirza (@Tahira Mirza) 1542726226.0
@tahiramirza1
@tahiramirza1
@tahiramirza1
@tahiramirza1
This video shows more of the devastating discovery.
This is the moment officials found 13 pounds of plastic waste in a dead sperm whale's stomach. What they found is… https://t.co/mBSV40Wh1K— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1542788887.0
People are finding the whale's stomach contents to be nauseating, as well as a call to action.
This is disgusting. Mass production of consumer plastics has only been around for about 60 years... will the oceans… https://t.co/X4QCq1cpmA— ScienceMan™ (@ScienceMan™) 1542723906.0
@GreenpeaceUK @The_PlugSeeker Would like to say this makes us angry, but it actually makes us feel ashamed to be pa… https://t.co/ACh0V9IYS0— Plug In Adventures (@Plug In Adventures) 1542740517.0
@tictoc This is just sad. Killed by humans.— Yvonne, MSN, RN (@Yvonne, MSN, RN) 1542809502.0
@tahiramirza1 Poor whale. We're all making too much pollution. Recycle, reuse, and reduce! Repeat.— Supernova3030 (@Supernova3030) 1542750960.0
@CBCNews Humans are shi*ty. We destroy everything we come in contact with.— Five-Tool Steve (@Five-Tool Steve) 1542749083.0
@globalnews @GlobalBC We can do so much better than this.— Karen Haugland (@Karen Haugland) 1542741689.0
To see your effect on the planet, check out Earth Day's Plastic Pollution Calculator.
H/T: abc News, Evening Standard, Twitter
But sometimes, the wisdom imparted by friends isn't always helpful or relevant to the situation.
Curious to hear from strangers online who could do without specific knowledge, Redditor Saibotnl1 asked:
"What life advice can just f'k off?"
These Redditors have a problem with how certain people have on outlook on life.
Time To Rest
"Sleep when you’re dead."
"Cool, but you’re going to be dead a lot sooner."
– Tag2graff
Irrelevant Sadness
"People have it so much worse than you so don’t be sad!"
– notrachelmar
"To that I like to say, 'people have it so much better than you so don't be happy!'"
– ___jupiter____
Your Life Path
"Almost anything relating to what age you must be in order to buy a house, have children, marry, have a profession, or do anything else. Seriously, everyone's life is different from everyone else's. Make your life the way you want it to be. If you so desire. Up to you."
– Frn071
On The Contrary
“Cheaters never prosper”
"Yes, they f'king do."
– waqasnaseem07
People can get out of any situation they find displeasing.
But others feel people should just "stick it out."
Ignoring Bullies
"Just ignore bullys or get someone else to handle it for you. I have never seen this work, only makes it worse. The only effective way I've seen to deal with them is by not making yourself an easy target and make them scared to f'k with you again. If going psycho on their a** is the only thing they'll respond to that's their fault. Also want to add in schools they will punish you for self defense but that punishment is only sitting around a few hours in detention or sitting around at home with a suspension. The punishment is temporary boredom, it's absolutely nothing compared to being bullied and when it's over the important message will still stand that you will not tolerate being a victim."
– User Delted
Remain to be Miserable
"Stick it out"
"Whether that's sh**ty jobs, shi**y relationships, shi**y living situations..."
"By all means don't just give up on things when you face challenges, but if something feels wrong or is wrecking your peace then take some control and change it if you can!"
– petitezoey
"Easy for you to say," might be an auto-response to these suggestions for many people.
Invitation For Recklesslessness
"Live like everyday was your last"
Yall know what people do when they learn they have a single day left to live?"
– LimeGrass619
A Possible Consequence
"I did that as a teenager and ended up homeless and addicted to heroin. Didn’t pan out for me too well."
"19 years sober though today."
– Open-Section-7263
A Practical Approach
"If I knew with certainty that I had one day left, I'd double-check all my financials, my will, and my insurance policies, make sure my wife had all of my passwords and knew where all the money was, spend the rest of the day with her and the kids, then call the medical examiner and ask to lie down on the gurney so that when I die they won't strain their back moving my remains out of my house."
– Asteriad
Nose Stuck In A Book
"Work while they sleep. Study while they party"
"That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for a lot of white hairs, burnout syndrome and a stroke before your 40s..."
– Khomuna
Doesn't Apply To Everyone
"Do what you love and money will follow"
"I love walking my dogs and grilling food for my friends but That sh*t doesn't pay the bills as well as my engineering degree!"
– Elons_android
While people's intentions are good, they're better off keeping their two cents in their own pockets.
Not everyone likes to hear platitudes.
Sometimes, people just want to know they're not alone with their problems over listening to unlikely solutions that are nothing more than superficial pick-me-ups.
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