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Digit the baby sperm whale almost died because of ocean trash.
Digit was not just any sperm whale calf, she traveled to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean every year. Her family is only one of 12 or 15 that come to this area each year. Although the family had been producing calves, the last three had been males. In sperm whale society, the females raise the young, so the family was in desperate need of a baby girl. Digit was just the girl they needed.
She was born in 2011. However, in 2015, a researcher received photos of her tail trapped by an anchor net. The researchers assume that Digit was snagged by loose line. Although it was not a lot of line, it could have been a death sentence for the three year old whale. Sperm whales need to dive to great depths in order to feed. Any kind of weight could significantly affect her ability to eat.
Somehow, the line fell off after she had been entangled in it for three years! It finally allowed the young whale to eat and regain weight. Although Digit was lucky, not all entangled whales are able to free themselves.
Trash in the ocean is killing animals of all kinds every day. We need to stop it by cleaning up our oceans.
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