Wednesday, June 16, 2010,
A dolphin swims in the Barataria Bay near oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill near Grand Isle, La.
Gulf Coast animals trying to outrun the massive oil spill are running out of space. Dolphins and sharks have been showing up in the shallow waters off beaches in droves. Other sea creatures have fled to cleaner waters, while oil-covered birds simply look for a place to die. One marine biologist likens the scene to animals fleeing a forest fire.
"There will be a lot of fish, sharks, turtles trying to get out of this water they detect is not suitable," Larry Crowder, a Duke University marine biologist, told The Associated Press.
The largest oil spill disaster in U.S. history began April 20. Since then, millions of gallons of oil have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. So far, the animal death toll reads like this: 783 birds, 353 turtles, 41 mammals. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska killed 250,000 birds and nearly 3,000 otters.
Dead birds and dolphins wash ashore, coated in the sludge ... a wildlife apocalypse in the making.
Federal authorities say 792 dead birds, sea turtles, dolphins and other wildlife have been collected from the Gulf of Mexico and its coastline.
A dead dolphin lies on the beach on Horn Island, Mississippi, on May 11. Officials say that at least six dead dolphins have been found along the Gulf of Mexico coast since May 2. Authorities don't yet know whether the animals died due to the Gulf oil spill. But Kendall said oil is a likely culprit.
"I'm not surprised that we're seeing dead dolphins already," he said. "Dolphins have to surface to get air, and if they surface through oil and they're inhaling, they're going to suck the oil down their airways." You can read more about the effects on these gentle creatures in the following ... death of the dolphin.
The above photo is a bird, for those of you who have trouble recognizing the poor little thing.
The oil has steadily spread east, washing up in greater quantities in recent days, even as a cap placed by BP over the blowout well began to collect some of the escaping crude. The cap, resembling an upside-down funnel, has captured about 252,000 gallons of oil, according to Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the crisis.
If earlier estimates are correct, that means the cap is capturing from a quarter to as much as half the oil spewing from the blowout each day. But that is a small fraction of the roughly 24 million to 47 million gallons government officials estimate have leaked into the Gulf since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers, making it the nation's largest oil spill ever.
Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director lifts his boot out of thick bleached oil at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay, just off the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, La.
A young heron sits dying amidst oil splattering underneath mangrove on an island impacted by oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Barataria Bay,just inside the coast of Louisiana, Sunday, May 23, 2010. The island is home to hundreds of herons, brown pelicans, terns, gulls and roseate spoonbills.
Five of the world's seven species of sea turtles make their home in the Gulf of Mexico, all of them threatened or endangered as their numbers have been decimated by fishing, coastal development and pollution. Their plight is detailed in a story here.
As of Saturday, 374 sea turtles affected by the oil spill have been collected by wildlife authorities, 315 of them dead. A total of 42 turtles were visibly oiled.
There are Angels hard at work doing what they can to help as many affected creatures as possible. You can keep track of their progress with the sea-turtles at the following site ... Marine Animal Rescue Team Blog
Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
Endangered: Kemp's ridleys face threats on both nesting beaches and in the marine environment. The greatest cause of decline and the continuing primary threat to Kemp's ridleys was incidental capture in fishing gear, primarily in shrimp trawls, but also in gill nets, longlines, traps and pots, and dredges in the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic. Egg collection was also an extreme threat to the population, but since nesting beaches were afforded official protection in 1966, this threat was no longer a major concern.
Their greatest threat now, is the massive oil spill created by the BP blowout. The effects are now just being assessed, but it is likely that it will have catastrophic results, since it is already taking a toll on the five endangered and threatened sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico. It could set back the recovering Kemp's ridley sea turtle alone, by decades if this year's hatchlings fall victim to toxic oil, according to a report to be released June 6 2010. Read the report here.
As you can see from these photos ... it is not just the gulls that are suffering. There are countless other creatures both large and small that are falling victim to BP greed and their dispassionate business practices.
The Ripple Effect Around The World
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fact Sheet
Effects of Oil on Wildlife and Habitat
Experts say the Gulf's marshes, beaches and coastal waters, which nurture a dazzling array of life, could be transformed into killing fields, though the die-off could take months or years and unfold largely out of sight. The damage could be even greater beneath the water's surface, where oil and dispersants could devastate zooplankton and tiny invertebrate communities at the base of the aquatic food chain.
“These waters are my backyard, my life,” said boat captain Dave Marino, a firefighter and fishing guide from Myrtle Grove. “I don't want to say heartbreaking, because that's been said. It's a nightmare. It looks like it's going to be wave after wave of it and nobody can stop it.”
“It's going to break that cycle of life,” Marino said. “It's like pouring gas in your aquarium. What do you think that's going to do?”
