An ailing pilot whale that washed up in a beach in southern Thailand had 18 plastic bags weighing 80 pounds in its stomach. Despite attempts by marine conservationists to save the whale, it died five days later. They say the plastic bags clogged up the whale’s digestive tract and it wasn’t able to eat. In essence, the whale starved to death. After the whale died, a necropsy showed the extent of the plastic in its stomach. Stories and pictures of the whale promoted an outrage in social media. Each year, more than 300 endangered sea turtles and 150 dolphins and…