Oil Spill Kills Off Hundreds of Wildlife

I'm sure that most of you have heard of the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico which resulted in the death of hundreds of Wild Life. Anyone who knows me knows that I adore Wildlife, so this absolutely breaks my heart.




It has been reported that "413 oiled birds have been collected alive, and 594 dead birds have been picked up. Of all those birds, only 39 have been released back into the wild." In addition, the survival rate of birds drenched in oil is under 1 percent. This news would tug at the heart of any caring individual, not even an animal lover in particular. These animals way of life have been disrupted because of Human greed. Now, a German Biologist is suggesting that rather than trying to clean them off, they should be euthanized. I was outraged when I first read that article. The birds are dying from clogged breathing pores, affected heat regulation, digesting food covered with oil, inhaling the toxic chemicals, etc. Though I understand the reasoning i.e. putting them out of their misery, I just feel that the LEAST we can do is try to save them. They still stand a chance!

What about the people who depend on these animals for livelihood? This whole thing is just disastrous! My mother, who is currently pursuing her PHD in Environmental Science was approached to go down to the Gulf to help, but was unable to because of matters beyond her control. However, I thank God for all these caring Biologists and others who are doing their best to save these animals who most people view as doomed. I cringe at the thought of the estimated death total by August.