World remains divided as plastics push elephants closer to extinction

A UN treaty to ban single-use products is facing resistance from nations including the US, India and Russia

- James Tapper

The elephant calf tried to wake its mother when she collapsed, near a rubbish dump in Coimbatore in southern India. Vets tried to help, first winching her back to her feet, then taking her to a hydrotherapy pool to recover, but she died a few days later.

An autopsy revealed her intestines were full of plastic bags and packets, eaten while she was grazing for food.

"Elephants are often attracted to garbage dumps that are at the edge of forests to access easy food," said Aritra Kshettry, who leads wildlife charity WWF India's elephant conservation programme. "Plastics in elephant dung has been reported from all the four elephant populations in India and seems to be a widespread issue."

Macaques, porcupines and sambar deer have also been found with plastic in their guts.

Plastic was conceived as a way of saving elephants from extinction. Ivory was in such demand in the 1860s that a billiard ball-maker offered a reward for an alternative. The challenge was met by John Wesley Hyatt, who created celluloid.

The array of plastic invented since, from cling film to Lycra to Lego, now presents a threat to elephants, not to mention the rest of the planet. A 2022 study found plastic or other human products in a third of all elephant dung, Kshettry said.

India is perhaps the world's largest plastic polluter. Last year researchers from Leeds University found it was responsible for nearly 20% of the world's plastic waste. India's government is trying to clean up the mess, with bans on the sale of 19 types of single-use plastic.