Zoo cares for seabirds rescued from oil spill in Peru

A Lima zoo is seeking to save endangered seabirds after a 6,000-barrel oil spill off Peru’s central coast, blamed on storm surge caused by a volcanic eruption in Tonga.

More than 40 birds, including Humboldt penguins, an endangered species, were rescued by brigade members in critical condition from the beaches and nature reserves of the districts of Ventanilla in the province of Callao and Ancón in Lima.

The oil-drenched birds were taken to the Parque de Las Leyendas zoo, in the Lima district of San Miguel, where zoologists and veterinarians are fighting to save their lives and remove the oil from their plumage.

“The forecast of the birds is reserved, we are waiting how they go day by day. We are making a strenuous effort. It is not a common thing for this to happen and we try to do the best we can,” biologist Liseth Bermúdez, from Parque de Las Leyendas, told AFP.

The birds are in a special environment at the zoo and cared for by veterinarians who bathe them with special detergents to remove the oil.

In addition, they feed them, apply preventive medicine with antifungal and antibacterial drugs and hydrate them.

“This (bird) that we are evaluating now is not so oiled, but we have seen that it has lost its impermeability, low body condition and is dehydrated, which is why it does deserve, like all animals, a veterinary control, preventive management with antibiotics, antifungals and hydration and vitaminization”, said the veterinarian Giovanna Yépez.

“Never in the history of Peru has a similar situation been seen. There is no precedent for a type of spill on the Peruvian coast. We did not believe that it would be of this magnitude,” added Bermúdez.

It’s do or die

Biologist Guillermo Ramos, from the National Forest and Wildlife Service (Serfor), warned that if the oil slick advances and action is not taken quickly, birds and marine animals will continue to die.

“Saving the birds is life or death. If the oil slick continues, obviously you will see the danger of more deaths. The species feed on crustaceans, fish that are already contaminatedRamos told AFP.

He indicated that this week Serfor brigade members found an undetermined number of dead birds and sea otters on the beaches and nature reserves.

In Peru, more than 150 species of birds depend on the sea to feed and reproduce. The birds inhabit the islets, nature reserves and along the coastline.

“Here there has been an affectation of all kinds. Everything has been found,” said Ramos. Among the five species of birds rescued are 13 guanay, three cormorants, 13 chuitas and six Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti).

The Humboldt penguin is a bird protected by the Peruvian State, categorized as an endangered species.

Juan Carlos Riveros, scientific director of Oceana Peru, told the press that certain components of crude oil, such as aromatic hydrocarbons, can affect the reproduction of animals and cause embryonic malformations, especially in birds, fish and even turtles.

Some 6,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the sea on Saturday, January 15, while an oil tanker unloaded at the La Pampilla refinery, owned by the Spanish oil company Repsol and located in Ventanilla, 30 km north of Lima.

According to the company, the accident occurred due to the waves caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga.

The sea currents spread the oil along the coast to more than 40 kilometers from the refinery, affecting 21 beaches, according to the Ministry of Health, which recommended that the population not go to them because they are classified as “unhealthy”.

The spill occurred during the unloading process of the Italian-flagged tanker “Mare Doricum”, whose departure was prohibited by the Peruvian government unless a bail letter of some 39 million dollars is presented, or until investigations into the incident are completed. the spill. (I)