When an emaciated dwarf sperm whale calf washed ashore on a Florida beach last month, officials brought the distressed mammal to veterinarians for further examination.
On Thursday, the St. Johns County Beach Services announced a large plastic bag was discovered in the main stomach of the young whale and it had to be euthanized due to its condition.
"Plastic has not only been thrust onto us as a society but it's also been pushed onto our oceans and marine wildlife," Christy Leavitt, the plastics campaign director with the non-profit organization Oceana, said in a statement to ABC News.
"There's nothing natural about a plastic bag in a whale calf's belly," Leavitt added.
MORE: Massive blue whale seen off the coast of Massachusetts in rare double sightingA beachgoer first located the young sperm whale on Sept. 16 when it washed ashore on Butler Beach in St. Augustine, Florida.
The individual contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) originally believing it was a dolphin calf. But upon further examination, the animal proved to be an emaciated dwarf sperm whale calf.
Staff and volunteers brought the whale to veterinarians for examination and after a consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the whale was humanely euthanized, according to the St. Johns County Beach Services.
MORE: 'Incredibly rare' gray whale spotted 200 years after extinction from the AtlanticA necropsy (animal autopsy) on the whale found a large plastic bag in its main stomach with associated ulcers, according to the agency.
"Many tragedies from plastic in the ocean go unobserved, and the ones we see are just a snapshot. The plastics crisis is deep, wide, and pervasive, affecting ecosystems and animals in ways we are only beginning to understand," Leavitt said.
In a message to elected leaders, Leavitt warned, "We need to reduce the production and use of unnecessary single-use plastics for the sake of animals' health, our health, and the health of our blue planet."