On January 27, following the conclusion of the Makaravilakku festival at Sabarimala in India, an elephant was found dead from very unnatural causes.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death of the 20-year old female was the ingestion of a large amount of plastic trash, which blocked her alimentary canal, leading to organ failure and internal bleeding.
In 2016, following the death of a deer who ingested plastic, the high court imposed a complete plastic ban in Sabarimala, a Hindu pilgrimage center. The annual pilgrimage is one of the largest in the world, with over 45 million devotees making the trip each year — and leaving their trash behind.
Despite the ban, tons of plastic food packages and bottles are dumped in and around the shrine following the pilgrimage season, and animals are attracted to the edible waste mixed in with the plastic. Measuring the effects of this pollution, the forest department found that a shocking amount of plastic was in the excrement of animals all throughout the area.
Pixnio.com
“Plastic waste is a common sight after the season all along the route from Pamba to Sannidhanam, Azhutha to Pamba and other forest routes,” said Georgi P Mathachen, field director of the forest department. “Though the cleaning-up is happening along the routes after the season, the plastic that moves to interior areas are posing a threat to the wildlife.”
Elephants are especially susceptible to accidentally eating the plastic trash, as they are most drawn to salty, processed foods, which often come packaged.
The female found dead had consumed a nine-foot long sheet of plastic.
Although marine animals are suffering immensely from our plastic waste, land animals are in danger, too. Simply keeping plastic bags out of the ocean is not enough. Throwing your plastic water bottle in the recycling bin instead of the trash bin is not enough. We are destroying the planet for the sake of convenience, and it’s time we made efforts to cut our plastic use.
There are so many easy ways to reduce your plastic use, like carrying a reusable water bottle, shopping with reusable bags, and passing up the straws and plasticware at restaurants.
There are some great initiatives – like the Plastic Free Challenge and the 30 Day Zero Waste Challenge – that can help you kick-start your journey to a more plastic-free lifestyle.
Terrible for this to occur.
Arrête de jeté vos déchet plastique vous tué des animaux avec ça
No more trash for saving wild animals
…and man is the intelligent species!
J’habite Mâcon et passe toutes mes promenades de ma chienne à ramasser les déjections humaines, toutes nos saletés dans les rues les parcs les trottoirs les ronds points les intersections… Y’en a de partout. Je suis seule a faire ce sport. Beaucoup de gens me félicitent me voyant faire mais aucun ne se baisse pour m’aider… Trop peur de se salir les mains, trop fatiguant de se baisser, “quand même, ce n’est pas a vous de le faire !!!”. Beaucoup d’orgueil aussi dans leur réponse et beaucoup de naïveté. Ce a quoi je leur répond : qu’ils sont naïfs de penser que la nature va arriver a tout absorber nos saletés, et si ils pensent que la mairie va payer plus de gens pour nettoyer, ils croient vraiment au père Noël. Et que de toute façon les gens consomment et reconsolider, sans penser que cela cree des devoirs de leur part… Pensant qu’ils n’ont que des droits et qu’ils ne sont responsables de rien… Et surtout pas de la merde dans la ville.
Bah… Je continue mon nettoyage et a moi seule je suis plus efficace que tous les agents de la mairie de Mâcon. Je suis même fière de mon boulot.. et aujourd’hui je me suis félicité e de la qualité et de l’efficacité de mon travail.
Le slogan de la Mairie “Mâcon ville propre”… Hum ! oui mais que pour les endroits où je nettoie !!! Beaucoup de vantardise dans ce slogan qui s’arroge des qualites que cette ville n’a pas.. et pourtant j’aime ma ville, j’aime ma chienne, donc je les soigné.
Corporate scum keep using plastic to cover everything they sell and lazy people with no consideration for anyone dump their rubbish everywhere. This has got to stop. Elephants are an endangered species, we have lost a precious baby because of low life selfish trash. Wake the fuck up India. Clean up your trash and stop harming innocent species. You need to think about what you are all doing to destroy endangered species. This has got to end. A baby is dead because of the scum of the earth.
This is so true. People who litter and especially litter plastic trash need to be sent to the sun on a one way trip.
V těchto zemích jsou lidé přemnožení, nemají práci, zaměstnání, tudíž si můžou veškeré plasty, nepořádek a bordel sami po sobě uklízet, díky jejich primitivnímu myšlení a chování umírají tyto zvířata.
Sick, thoughtless humans who inhabit this earth!! Remove man from this tte world, and see how well it works!!!!
From beasts we scorn as soulless,
In forest, field and den,
The cry goes up to witness
The soullessness of men.
~M. Frida Hartley
This is horrible. They must clean up their garbage. Poor elephants and other animals that suffer horrible deaths because of this !
Single use plastic is the absolute worst invention of all time. Straws, water bottles, bags… makes me sick. If we keep this up, in 50 years this planet is going to 1 giant junk yard. We’re well on our way.
My heart is broken for this poor elephant! People and plastic, the cause of such horrific environmental damage and harm to animals! Please choose alternatives to plastic!
MY Heart IS BROKEN ? LOOK AT OUR BEAUTIFUL Elle DEAD ON THE GROUND LIKE THE GARBAGE ELLE ATE ! IF YOU WEREN’T BUILDING ON THEIR LANDS THIS WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING AND IF YOU STOP USING PLASTICS AND THROW THE PLASTICS IN THE GARBAGE OUR ELLES WOULD BE ROAMING FREE ON THEIR LAND ! YOU WILL ALL PAY DEARLY. AND BURN IN HELL PEOPLE !!??????????
Are you serious, and is Americans are doing any better. Really
As far as I can find out India has no public trash collection at all. There may be dumps where people can dump trash these are places where the locals dig through it looking for anything they can use. Keep in mind too that this country has over a billion living in it that’s one of the reasons there are so many poor there simply are not enough jobs for this many people. The wild animals pay the price for for all of this including our seas which are becoming nothing but floating junk piles. There are dead whales and dolphins washed up on beaches on over the planet that I believe died just like this elephant.
Lamentable y muy triste solo los humanos estan causando tanto dolor
Typical from a shit hole country
This should have never happened. Bless that poor animal,I just hope it didn’t suffer too much.
This poor animal must have died in great pain
We need to do something drastic now to put an end to the one use plastics and our willingness to dispose of them willy nilly. We are killing the planet, marine life, and now other innocent animals. This is unacceptable. I feel terrible for this elephant. It was just trying to survive.
LOWLIFE INDIANS .. #! FOR OUTDOOR DEFECATION ANIMAL ABUSE, A COUNTRY OF COMPLETE FILTH AND YET THEY CAN AFFORD A SPACE PROGRAM ,WERE THE HELL ARE THEIR PRIORITIES
I saw a documentary about that festival and it showed a satellite view of the pollution in the river, During and after the people leave.
Everyone, Please care and then do something. We must do all we can in every way we can. Shop wisely, . Recycle when you possibly can, Pay attention to where your trash goes. dont use straws or plastic utensils, most of all think then act.
Bless you all and get on it!