Plastic Bags or Squid? Whales Can’t Tell!

Why are plastics in the oceans dangerous for whales? In this informative video, Museum Educator Sloane explains how toothed whales like sperm whales rely on echolocation to find food in the deep, dark parts of the ocean. However, the sound of a plastic bag or bottle is very similar to that of a squid, one of their food sources. One way we could remedy this problem would be by changing how these plastics are engineered so they sound different to whales’ echolocation. Another solution would be reducing the amount of unnecessary plastics that are produced entirely!