June 23, 2010 Oil Spill Affecting Marine Life, Top to Bottom
From nesting turtles to larval fish, Gulf ecosystem ravaged by
Sharon Young A large disoriented tiger shark swims near a
Florida Beach. Dolphins are photographed swimming in an oil
slick. Pelicans flounder in thick oil. We see these ghastly
images in the news every day. The impacts of the recent disaster
caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
continue to spread from the largest creatures to the smallest.
As part of The HSUS team recently in the Gulf to assess wildlife
impacts of the oil, I saw dying hermit crabs and other small
creatures struggling in oily tide pools or unable to walk along
the beach. Further up the food chain, I saw dolphins frolicking
in the bays where some of them spend their entire lives.
Although some live offshore, some spend their entire lives
resident in a particular bay. Oil entering the only home they
know can leave the dolphins no place to go. The team also
visited de-oiling facilities and saw the plight