Many animals were involved in the oil spill out of a rig that expanded quickly in the oceanic water between Newport Beach and the Huntington Beach Pier. On October 03, 2021, light utility vehicles of the OWCN moved along the Huntington Beach water in search of animals involved in it.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) had not yet determined the number of organisms living in the sea, including birds. Nevertheless, California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Eric Laughlin stated that Office of Spill Prevention and Response officials were working to get the organism count by the evening of that Sunday.
Meanwhile, wildlife rescue organizations in California had prepared for taking in any of those affected animals if discovered. Wetlands and Wildlife Center Director Debbie McGuire stated that all of its staffers had their gear out, including goggles and masks. In addition, Wetlands and Wildlife Center workers had intravenous fluids on hand to stabilize those animals.
Some of its staffers will inspect the birds that the center successfully brings home and will take their feather samples. The GPS information of the pick-up locations of those birds will be noted down to aid in tracking how the oil spillage is progressing as well. Earlier on October 03, 2021, McGuire was anticipating the pickup of an Oxyura jamaicensis duck and three pelicans.
Laguna Beach’s Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC), one of the organizations in California that form the OWCN, was also waiting to participate in the rescue efforts if asked. Three animals have been brought to the center in California’s Laguna Beach city. As per PMMC spokesperson Krysta Higuchi, that means if the oil spillage-hit marine mammals are discovered, there is space readily available at the center to start triage efforts.
Higuchi stated that the said mammals would possibly be moved to SeaWorld San Diego, another center that belongs to the OWCN group and that has amenities to tackle the clean-up job.
McGuire stated that three of its big field vehicles came to the Wetlands and Wildlife Center on the afternoon of the previous Sunday. The Oiled Wildlife Care Network has a headquarters at the University of California, Davis, and Wildlife Health Center at UC Davis’s School of Veterinary Medicine administers it.
The CDFW’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) established the network in 1994, after Alaska’s Exxon Valdez oil spill and Huntington Beach’s American Trader oil spill.
