The brutal scene that left David Attenborough heartbroken
Sir David Attenborough has spent his lifetime documenting nature and wildlife, as well as the impact we humans have on it.
The 91-year-old conservationist and broadcaster has seen everything, but there was one recent scene that brought him to tears.
Attenborough was left heartbroken during filming for his latest documentary series Blue Planet II after seeing a young albatross lying dead beside its mother after choking on a plastic toothpick.
The presenter said the birds eat seafood as part of its natural diet and was shocked to see the mother feed its young with something he didn’t expect to see.
“What comes out of the mouth of the adult?” he questioned. “Not sand eels and not fish and not squid which is what they mostly eat, but plastic.
“It’s heartbreaking ... heartbreaking.”
Writing in a Radio Times column, Attenborough highlighted the eight million tonnes of plastic that are dumped into the sea every year and called for action to save the future of animals.
“Surely we have a responsibility to care for the planet on which we live? The future of humanity, and indeed of all life on Earth, now depends on us doing so,” he said.
“Plastic is now found everywhere in the ocean, from its surface to its greatest depths.”