Dead dolphin found on UK beach had swallowed rubber glove
Further evidence of the widespread plastic pollution in the ocean has emerged after a dolphin washed up on a Norfolk beach in the UK was found to have part of a rubber glove in his stomach.
A post-mortem on the dead juvenile male Risso’s dolphin revealed the find after being discovered dead on Great Yarmouth South Beach.
The young dolphin was thin and showed no evidence of feeding – said to be the ‘most significant factor’ in his death. The discovery of the rubber glove parts had ‘not been a causal factor in the dolphin’s death’ said Rob Deaville, a marine biologist and project manager of UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP).
“At the moment the poor nutritional condition is the most significant factor. It’s lost a lot of muscle mass. It’s actually pretty thin.”
It is thought that this is the first Risso’s dolphin stranded in the southern North Sea since one was found in Kent in the 1960’s. Risso’s dolphins usually live in deeper waters and are seen in groups of 10 to 50.
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