A dead whale installation is currently on display at the front lawn of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to bring attention to plastic pollution in several bodies of water across the globe.
As part of CCP’s Earth Day 2019 celebration, they unveiled on Thursday “The Cry of the Dead Whale,” which may be viewed until May 26. A dead baby whale was placed inside the belly, as a representation of the millennials who will one day “inherit the future of our oceans.”
The massive installation was first exhibited two years ago in Naic, Cavite, which also brings attention to the dangerous accumulation of plastic in the country.
This installation hopes to become a wakeup call for everyone, especially after several cases of dead whales found along the Philippine shores.
Last March, a young Cuvier beaked whale was found dead – its belly had 40 kilograms of plastic. At first, the whale was found stranded in the Davao Gulf, where he was seen vomiting blood. Rescuers tried to save the whale, but shortly died.
Darrell Blatchley, a marine mammal expert, opened up the whale and found 16 rice sacks, plastic bags, snack bags, and big tangles of nylon ropes that amounted to 88 pounds. He later on posted on his Facebook page that it was “the most plastic we have ever seen in a whale.”
According to a 2017 report by Ocean Conservancy, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines have been dumping more single-use plastic than the rest of the other countries combined.
The installation actually looks more like the case of the dead whale found in Italy this year, wherein she had 22 kilograms of plastic in its stomach, along with her dead fetus, who was believed to be malnourished because of the plastic ingested by its mother.
Related stories:
– Whale die at an alarming rate
– Pregnant sperm whale with 22 kilograms of plastic in its stomach, found dead in Italy
– 40 kilos of plastic found in dead whale’s stomach
