DEEP WATER HORIZON
When the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20 th , little
was known about the immediate effects it would have on
wildlife. One week later, the first oiled bird was found off
the coast of Louisiana. By June federal officials reported
that 600 or more birds had been collected, only 80 alive,
250 sea turtles had been found, only 25 alive. 29
dolphins found, all dead. The oil had reached the shore, the
marshes and two major pelican breeding grounds in
Louisiana. Experts were predicting tens of thousands of
wildlife could be directly harmed by this environmental
catastrophe.
Late July brought out more disturbing numbers, 4000
dead birds, 700 Dead Sea turtles – oil had reached 600
miles of shoreline and covered 44,000 square miles of the
Gulf of Mexico.
From the time the oil spill began, all wildlife rescue and
rehabilitation efforts have been coordinated through the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Tri-State
Bird Rescue & Research. At Kritter, Inc., we have
volunteered our facility to them as part of that
coordinated effort. Lisa, Hilary Clayton and Kim Evans
were contracted by USFWS to work with the local Incident
Command Center as a Capture Crew team, to assist in
rescuing oiled and distressed wildlife in both Bay and
Gulf Counties. On 14 day swing assignments, we
patrolled the coast line in 12 hour shifts searching for
any oiled or distressed wildlife. Oiled wildlife is being
transported to the Mobile Command Center, Wash Station
in Pensacola, Florida. All distressed wildlife are taken in
and cared for by Kritter, Inc. volunteers. Daily duties
also included distributing contact information cards and
responding to wildlife hotline calls from the general
public.
As we approach September, the oil has stopped gushing
into the Gulf, however, the cap will not be officially
complete until well after Labor Day. Although the
number’s of birds and distressed animals has declined
slightly in our local area, there is still potential for more
affected birds as our Hurricane season continues and the
concern of how a major storm will further affect this area.
At Kritter, Inc. we have been overwhelmed by the
generosity of those who have come to Kritter, Inc to
volunteer their services. Our call to duty to help oiled
wildlife significantly threatened our existing daily
operations and having volunteers to help us with basic
patient care, food preparation, feedings, cage cleaning,
laundry and the many other “jobs” has made a
tremendous difference for Kritter. We are open 7 days a
week, 365 days a year, treat over 200 species and nearly
600 patients a year and are always close to full capacity.
Please support our mission by making a donation that
will help us continue to save wildlife through compassion,
care and education. You can mail a check or use PayPal
on-line.
DONATE
Another way to help is to volunteer at Kritter, Inc. We are
looking for additional volunteers who are seeking a
memorable and meaningful experience and many
opportunities are open. If you wish to volunteer, please
email us and specify your availability and interest.
Please click here to learn more about our volunteer needs
and to complete our volunteer application.
VOLUNTEER
Since 2008, thanks to people like you, Kritter, Inc. has
worked tirelessly to give wildlife a voice. Thank you for
your continued support!