Animals Saved Because of Volunteers

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico did not just hurt the economy, the public’s trust in drilling but extremely affected the wildlife. Many non profit animal rescue organizations and volunteers ventured to south to help in any way possible. In an article in Oregon Live. com the pictures and stories from the volunteers paint a vivid picture of the destruction cause to the wild animals around the spill.

The number of animals saved and cleaned after the oil spill last spring in the Gulf Coast could never have been accomplished without the help of volunteers from all around the country. Days after one of the largest oil spills in history the stormy weather that pushed the fresh oil into the coast only made the clean up job more difficult. Animals were already being brought to rescues on Friday. Birds that would normally be white were covered beak to claws by black oil. Volunteers helped to wash the animals and keep them calm while being handled. According to Nils Warnock, a spill recovery supervisor with the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network at the University of California-Davis, their first concerns were “Oil clumps seabirds’ feathers, leaving them without insulation — and when they preen, they swallow it. Prolonged contact with the skin can cause burns. Oil swallowed by animals can cause anemia, hemorrhaging and other problems.” Other volunteers were sent out to the beaches to see the destruction first hand. Catching the animals that were covered in oil to take them to the rescue was not an easy task because they have never been handled by humans. Other animals could not be saved, like many of the deep sea marine life. The deaths of the wild animals is such a tragedy because it could have been avoided.

The hardship to the fishing community will affect their economy for many years to come. In the future hopefully volunteers and organizations will not be needed because tragedies like this will be prevented before they can occur.