Synopsis Regarding the Fate of Recovered Wildlife
A grebe, all cleaned up after running afoul of an oil spill in south Puget Sound, is released at Brackett's Landing Park in Edmonds. Sending the bird on its way is Coleen Doucette, a rehabilitation specialist with Focus Wildlife who was working with PAWS. The oil spill, reported Oct. 14, soiled beaches along Maury and Vashon islands. (October 25, 2004)
Scott Eklund/Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Information based on lab results:
1) A live, oiled Western Grebe was recovered on 10/15/04. It was successfully cleaned and treated, and was released back into the wild on 10/25/04. The oil on the bird was matched to that of the Dalco Pass spill by the Manchester Lab.
2) A live, injured Mallard was recovered on 10/16/04. This bird had several fractures (scapula and clavicle). The bird was euthanized on 10/17/04 after it was determined that it had a poor prognosis for recovery and release due to the extent of its injuries. A feather sample collected from this bird was sent to the Manchester Lab and tested positive for traces of oil that matched to that of the Dalco Pass spill.
3) A total of 4 juvenile harbor seals (3 dead non-oiled plus 1 live oiled ) were recovered during the spill response. The live, oiled seal was recovered on 10/16/04. It was given preliminary treatment at the primary care center at the command post, then transferred to PAWS for further care. It died on 10/17/04 and was immediately necropsied. Neither the necropsy, nor the subsequent tissue analyses completed thus far, have been able to establish any definitive link between the partial external oiling and the death of the animal. The tests at the Manchester Lab revealed that the oil found in the fur sample from this animal did not match the Dalco Pass oil, but was in fact a weathered coal tar creosote.