Whale calf killed by eating balloon washes up on North Carolina beach

A young whale calf that washed up dead on a North Carolina beach last week was killed by a balloon.

The nearly 11-foot Gervais’ beaked whale floated into shallow waters off Emerald Isle on Oct. 30 and was confirmed dead by the North Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding team, officials said.

Its carcass was removed by a team and taken to the North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology for an autopsy — where researchers determined the mammal ate a balloon.

Marine scientists discovered a plastic, star-shaped balloon “crumpled up and obstructing the passage of digesta to the rest of the gastrointestinal tract” in the overwise healthy calf’s stomach, the university center said.

“Unfortunately, this young female whale died due to ingestion of plastic,” the center said in a post.

The female calf, who was still nursing, likely starved to death over time due to the blockage, according to the researchers.

The university center urged people to think twice before buying plastic or mylar balloons to celebrate a birthday or commemorate a loved one. Instead, it suggested alternatives like biodegradable paper decorations and advised people to properly dispose of latex and mylar balloons — removing all fases first — if using them.

“This can avoid them getting ‘loose’ and posing an unnecessary and tragic danger, causing wildlife to starve and perish over time, as in the case of this unfortunate Gervais’ beaked whale,” the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology said.

Beaked whales, like the female calf killed by human carelessness, are large marine mammals that live deep in the ocean near the edge of the continental shelf and beyond. They spend most of their time deep underwater, making sightings of living beaked whales rare.

According to the center, about 125 marine mammals — including whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and manatees — wash up on beaches across North Carolina each year.

The reasons for the strandings vary from natural causes and illnesses to human interactions like net entanglements, boat strikes and plastic.