The baby dugong, which washed up in waters off southern Thailand months ago, has died from a stomach infection caused by swallowing bits of plastic. Marium's death once again casts a spotlight on plastics in the ocean.
An 8-month-old dugong, which had won the hearts of many people after being found on a southern beach in Thailand in April, has died from an infection caused by plastic in her stomach and intestines, officials said on Saturday.
Marine biologists said the baby dugong's death was caused by a combination of both shock and indigestion.
The female dugong — a large ocean mammal — was named Marium. She gained celebrity status in Thailand after images of biologists rescuing and feeding her milk and seagrass went viral on social media.
According to Chaiyapruk Werawong, the head of Trang province marine park, Marium died just after midnight after going into shock as efforts to resuscitate her failed. "She died from a blood infection and pus in her stomach," he said, adding that small amounts of plastic waste were found in her intestinal tract.
The dugong is a species of marine mammal similar to the American manatee and can grow to about 3.4 meters (11 feet) in length. It is listed as a vulnerable species by wildlife conservation organizations.
Last week, Marium was found injured on the shore. Jatuporn Buruspat, the director general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, told the Agence France-Presse news agency that she was allegedly being chased, and had been attacked, by a male dugong during the mating season.
Marium was brought in for treatment in an artificial sea on Libong Island in Krabi province.
Endearing but endangered
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"We assume she wandered off too far from her natural habitat and was chased and eventually attacked by another male dugong, or dugongs, as they feel attracted to her," Jatuporn said Saturday.
"She must have thought these plastics were edible," Jatuporn added.
Footage released by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) showed veterinarians trying to revive Marium using CPR.
"We could partially treat the respiratory infection but the obstruction of plastic rubbish ... could not be cured," veterinarian Nantarika Chansue said in a Facebook post, saying that the baby dugong's death should serve as a lesson.
The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources announced Marium's death on its Facebook page. The post quickly garnered more than 11,000 shares and thousands of comments mourning the loss.
A reminder
Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-arcpha said Marium's death saddens the whole country and people across the globe. "Her death will remind Thais and people all over the world not to dispose of trash into the oceans," Varawut said at a news conference.
Images of plastic debris-strewn beaches and stomachs of dead fish full of plastic materials have sparked global outrage, with environmental activists calling for stricter action to deal with the environmental hazard.
Once scenic coastlines filled with bottles, animals choking on bits of plastic, people picking through the material on vast rubbish dumps: Our love affair with plastic is taking a huge environmental toll.
Image: Daniel Müller/Greenpeace
The age of plastic
Plastic is lightweight, durable — and wildly popular. We've produced 8.3 billion metric tons of the material since mass production began in the 1950s. Because it doesn't easily biodegrade, much of what we've made now lives in landfills like this one on Nairobi's outskirts. Rubbish pickers there hunt for recyclable plastics to earn a living. But a lot of plastic also ends up in the ocean ...
Image: Reuters/T. Mukoya
Rivers of plastic
Much plastic enters marine habitats through rivers like, the Yangtze, the Indus, the Ganges, Pearl River, and the Mekong. These rivers run through highly populated areas with a lack of adequate waste disposal infrastructure. Here, a fisherman in the Philippines removes a fish and crab trap from plastic-filled waters.
Image: picture-alliance/Pacific Press/G. B. Dantes
A plastic welcome to the world
Some animals have found uses for plastic waste. This swan nested in garbage on a Copenhagen lake that is popular with tourists. Her cygnets hatched surrounded by waste. It's not the best start to life. But for some animals the consequences are much worse ...
Image: picture-alliance/Ritzau Scanpix
Deadly consequences
Although plastic is highly durable and can be used for products with a long lifespan, such as furniture and piping, about 50 percent goes to disposable products, including single-use cutlery and six pack rings that end up in the natural environment. Animals, like this penguin, are in danger of becoming entangled and dying as a result.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Balance
Eating plastic
Other animals mistake the material for food. This albatross chick was found dead on Sand Island in Hawaii with multiple pieces of plastic in its stomach. According to one study of 34 seabird species in northern Europe, Russia, Iceland, Svalbard, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia and Greenland, 74 percent had ingested plastic. Eating the material can lead to organ damage and blockages in the gut.
Even larger animals aren't immune to the effects of consuming plastic. This whale was found struggling to breathe and swim in a Thai canal. As rescuers attempted to save the animal, it vomited five plastic bags and later died. During the necropsy, vets found 80 shopping bags and other plastic garbage had clogged up the whale's stomach, so the marine creature could no longer digest nutritious food.
Image: Reuters
Visible and invisible plastic
We're well aware of the large pieces of plastic bobbing on the ocean's surface, as is pictured here off the Hawaiian coast. But did you know, trillions of tiny particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter are also floating around in there? These particles end up in the food chain. Sea plankton, which are an important source of food for fish and other marine animals, have been filmed eating them.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
An end in sight?
Tentative measures to cut down on disposable plastic have already been taken in some African countries with bans on plastic bags, while the European Union is looking into prohibiting single-use plastic products. But if current trends continue, scientists believe there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic on the planet by 2050.
