Cover Story: The Battle to Save Sea Life From an Ocean of Plastic

One day in mid-February, a dwarf sperm whale became beached on a stretch of sand near Sanya on the southern end of China’s Hainan Island. Marine conservationists and ordinary residents alike spent 28 hours trying to help her back to the ocean.

Despite the unrelenting efforts of the would-be rescuers, the whale died the next day, together with the unborn calf she was carrying.