The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is still leaking. As of late, there have been many concerns about animals and what could happen to them if they get drenched in oil. The oil could be a fatal blow not only to individual animals, but possibly the species as a whole.
As of June 7th, 250 turtles and 30 mammals had been found dead, but birds were impacted the most -- a catastrophic 594 were found dead. Among the birds in particular danger is the Brown Pelican. Brown Pelicans were severely impacted by DDT in the 1960s, but had been recovering ever since, and are now quite abundant in some southern coastal states, such as Florida and Louisiana. Pelicans have a habit of plunging into the water for fish. If they dive right into the oil, they will become drenched in it, and their chance of survival becomes almost zero. Although they are still quite common, the population could be turning around, in a bad way.
Anhingas, which are long-necked, southern swimming birds that mainly live in freshwater, could potentially be in danger. If the oil spill ever floods into freshwater, which it very well could, the Anhinga would be in trouble. Many Anhingas swim very deeply in the water, with often only their neck and head showing. They also dive well. With so much of their body under oil, it would be impossible for them to escape. Many more freshwater birds could be effected by this, from ducks to swallows, which skim the water for their main food, aquatic insects.
Royal Terns, elegant, slim, white birds the size of Mallards, have been repeatedly reported as in danger of being drenched in oil, but the truth is that all terns that live in the Gulf of Mexico are. The Royal is just one of the very many terns that dives into water, much like a pelican, for its food. The terns are even less likely to survive than the pelicans, due to their smaller size and, thus, lack of enough power.
These are only a couple examples of many birds that are in a bunch of potential trouble. If the problem is not fixed soon, species could show precipitous declines in population, maybe to a disastrous point.
By Matty