A case report: Stomach foreign object in whaleshark (Rhincodon typus) stranded in Thailand

Abstract

A dead 5.5 m long female whale shark (Rhincodon typus) was brought to shore by fishermen in Samutprakarn, Thailand. A necropsy was subsequently performed. Several isolated hemorrhages with multiple ulcers were observed in the gastric mucosa, extending into the subserosal tissue of the stomach. An extremely hard and stiff plastic drinking straw was found in the gastric lumen. The hardening of the straw was due to the reaction of stomach enzyme to plastic, which became a sharp foreign object inside the stomach. Although putrefaction and autolysis was observed, all other organ systems displayed normal findings and no competing cause of death was in evidence. Cause of death was thus suspected to be attributed to the ingestion of the drinking straw, with subsequent irritation of the stomach mucosa causing wounds and infections and may be not possible to eliminate due to the floating nature of the plastic. Since this is a very rare case, due to the fact that shark could usually eliminate the stomach content, we should not overlook the danger of plastic pollution in the marine environment.