Why birds are so affected by the effects of oil spills

We have all seen images of bird life affected by spills, how they struggle and try to clear themselves from the contamination.

Saving a bird that has been in an oil spill is a meticulous process, as a great degree of care must be exercised to restore their feathers’ waterproofing capabilities so that they can be returned to the wild and survive.

Up to now, humankind has used our planet’s rivers, lakes and oceans to ship crude oil since the advent of petroleum use, and while this is an effective way to transport large quantities of the stuff, it runs the risk of oil spills, which wreak havoc on marine ecosystems.

For this reason, experts at International Bird Rescue aspire to save and rehabilitate bird victims of oil spills, with team members having saved thousands of birds, labouring to clean and heal them to fly another day.

View the original video here.

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