A male elephant weighing about 3.5 tons and aged around 20, was found dead in the Khao Khitchakut National Park in central Thailand and a subsequent autopsy revealed the cause of death to have been plastic bags and other items that caused a blockage and infection in the pachyderm’s intestines. “How many wild animals need to die in order to raise the conscience of some people?” Varawut Silpa-archa, the country’s minister of Natural Resources and Environment, lamented in a Facebook post.
The impacts of all that waste on Thailand’s wildlife and marine creatures have been grave. Last year a young orphaned dugong, a member of a critically endangered species, was found dead in local waters. The female animal had died after accidentally ingesting plastic waste. The death of the female dugong, whose plight captured nationwide attention, shocked Thais. “It is very sad that she died after going into shock due to the obstruction in her intestine generated by plastic fragments. They caused inflammation leading to fully building-up gas in the digestive system,” Nantarika Chansue, a local veterinarian, observed.
“Southeast Asia is a primary source and victim of plastic, where it is choking seas and threatening ecosystems and livelihoods,” says Kakuko Nagatani-Yoshida, the United Nations Development Agency’s regional coordinator for chemicals and waste. “If we want to solve the marine litter problem globally, we have to solve it in this region.”
Source: Sustainability Times
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