Researchers with the North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology said a bottlenose dolphin found dead in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve in Beaufort was likely killed by swallowing a plastic bag.
A necropsy found the 428 pound male dolphin was very thin, and CMAST officials said a large plastic bag remnant with a knot in the center was found in the dolphin’s stomach.
They are reminding people to be aware of how plastic bags can negatively affect the environment and asking that recyclable non-plastic bags be used instead.
Late in 2023, live Gervais' Beaked Whale washed up in Emerald Isle earlier and died soon after, and researchers say a necropsy found the female calf died from eating a plastic or mylar balloon.
