Scientists are noticing strange things from the wildlife affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. Dolphins, fish, and sharks are showing up in shallow water, a phenomena scientists liken to animals fleeing a forest fire.
Scientists say the wildlife is trying to get away from the oil spill, looking for cleaner waters along the coast where you normally wouldn’t see them. Waters closer to the coast are believed to have more oxygen, but as the oil spreads, experts fear that many fish and other marine life could be trapped by the oil and run out of oxygen. Sharks may also be turning up to feast on the large number of fish – think of it as a shark buffet.
Concerned was raised when a dead sperm whale was found about 77 miles away from the oil spill in non-oily waters. This has been the first sighting of a dead whale since the explosion, although some have been spotting swimming in the area since the spill. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that sperm whales are the only endangered cetaceans in that part of the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists are trying to determine what killed it.
The latest figures on the number of animals and marine life killed by the oil spill are still low according to experts. Scientists are gathering up the dead and right now, they have retrieved 783 birds, 353 turtles, and 41 mammals. There were about 250,000 birds and almost 3,000 otters killed after the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. The amount of wildlife killed by this spill will be counted towards how much BP has to pay for the spill.
The death toll may be low simply because scientists can’t reach all of those that have died since the spill area is so large. Greenpeace is on the scene and biologist John Hocevar thinks the count is still low because the disaster is “really just beginning.” The organization has seen dolphins swimming in oily waters and oily pelicans feeding their babies, but hasn’t seen any dead wildlife yet.