It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a… giant whale tail made of plastic?

If you’ve been keeping up with our recent blog posts, you’ve already met Edward, Marigold, Clementine, Stanley, Giacometti, and Rosa. Here, you’ll meet the final three Washed Ashore Animal Advocates you can find in the Garden – Sylvia, Scrappy, and Hugo – and learn about how they’re impacted by marine plastic pollution.

Sylvia the Silvertip Shark

Surrounded by an undersea-themed garden bed, Sylvia can be found just outside of our Rose Garden, swimming above a plastic coral reef. Silvertip sharks are classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species¹, meaning that their population is at risk of extinction. Sadly, they’re not the only ones – as of 2022, over 30% of shark species were listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered².

While plastic pollution isn’t the leading threat to endangered shark species, it still contributes to their population decline. For starters, when sharks consume prey that have ingested microplastics, all those microplastics are passed along to the sharks³. Once consumed, microplastics often cause intestinal damage, starvation, and health problems from leeched chemicals.

Plastic is known to soak up harmful toxins from the surrounding waters, which then end up in the animals that ingest these plastics. Studies have shown that when sharks are affected by harmful chemicals, they end up transferring these toxins to their offspring³ – harming future populations and making it harder for certain species to avoid extinction.

Scrappy the Sea Lion Pup

Scrappy is a bit hidden in the Garden, tucked away near our Magnolia Grove and Trial Gardens near the Pavillion in the Grand Garden.

Sea lions are very curious and playful creatures who love to investigate everything around them! Unfortunately, this includes discarded fishing nets (like the ones at the bottom of the sculpture), which often leads to sea lions becoming trapped and unable to swim. If you look closely, you can see that Scrappy’s flipper is caught in a green net.

In certain areas, the National Park Service has documented hundreds of instances were sea lions become entangled in rope, nets, plastic rings, or other marine debris – and most of this debris ends up wrapped around their necks⁴. The plastic used in these materials is very durable, meaning it’s extremely hard for sea lions to break free, and the plastic doesn’t degrade very quickly, leaving sea lions trapped for extremely long periods of time⁴.

Hugo the Humpback Whale Tail

Hugo (or at least, Hugo’s tail!) is making waves next to our Partnership Garden, underneath the belvedere. Humpback whales can be up to 60 feet long, which is a pretty tall order for a plastic sculpture! However, the Washed Ashore project was able to work around this challenge by just showcasing Hugo’s tail.

Humpback whales were once considered an endangered species, nearly hunted to extinction by whalers – however, thanks to conservation efforts, these whales have made an inspiring comeback and their populations are now thriving. They’re also protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to ensure stable populations⁵.

However, humans are threatening these whales once again by means of our plastic pollution. Though most humpback whales don’t directly consume microplastics, their food is full of them. Humpback whales have baleen in their mouths, which they use to filter krill and other crustaceans from the water⁵. But recent studies from Stanford University scientists have found that humpback whales ingest at least 1 million microplastic pieces per day by filtering krill – and other whale species that dine on krill and fish consume between 3 and 10 million pieces per day.

Plastic pollution affects marine wildlife spanning the entire food web – from krill that are smaller than your thumb to whales as big as a school bus. Predators and prey alike feel the consequences, as do humans living near large bodies of water. However, there are ways you can help!

The Washed Ashore Project reminds us that nearly all marine plastic pollution comes from the land – so the best way to prevent plastic from entering our waterways is to limit our plastic usage on land.

Here are some strategies they recommend for lessening your plastic footprint:

• Rethink before you buy – use products and packaging that are multiuse, recyclable, and/or reusable.
• Reduce the amount of waste you produce.
• Reuse your own water bottle, coffee cup, silverware, and bags.
• Recycle all aluminum, glass, paper, and plastic products.
• Reinvent trash by making it into art or functional items.
• Refuse single-use plastics – buy in bulk and bring your own containers.

How are you lowering your plastic footprint? Let us know at marketing@gbbg.org!

Sources:

1. “Silvertip Shark.” Georgia Aquarium, May 22, 2025. https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/animal/silvertip-shark/.
2. Hodgson, Isla. “Which Sharks Are the Most Endangered?” Save Our Seas Foundation. Accessed July 9, 2025. https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/which-sharks-are-the-most-endangered.
3. Pierce, Simon. “Impacts of Ocean Pollution on Sharks and Rays.” Marine Megafauna Foundation, 2022. https://marinemegafauna.org/human-threats-sharks-rays/ocean-pollution.
4. Jenniges, Justin. “Plastic Packing Bands Entangle Steller Sea Lions.” National Parks Service, December 9, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/glba/blogs/plastic-packing-bands-entangle-steller-sea-lions.htm.
5. Schmidt, Amanda. “Humpback Whale Fact Sheet.” PBS, June 29, 2022. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/humpback-whale-fact-sheet/.