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On Tuesday, January
29, 2002 at 10 PM, Animal Planet’s
series, Wild Rescues, will feature IBRRC's Director, Jay Holcomb,
and members of International Bird Rescue Research Center’s
(IBRRC) oil spill response team as they assisted in the largest
wild rescue ever attempted the summer of 2000.
(Check the Animal
Planet website)
On June 23 of that year, the “MV Treasure,”
a bulk ore carrier, sank off the coast of South Africa between
Dassen and Robben islands. The ship spilled over 1,300 tons
of bunker oil, which immediately oiled thousands of African
Penguins, an endangered species which breeds there. An additional
19,500 non-oiled penguins were captured and trucked to Port
Elizabeth, where they were released with the hope that by
the time they swam back to Cape Town, the oil would have dissipated.
The world watched as Pamela, Peter and Percy, three penguins
fitted with satellite-transmitter devices, swam home.
Within ten days of the Treasure spill, 20,251
oiled African penguins had been admitted into the rehabilitation
center in Cape Town. The operation was managed by the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), whose Oiled Wildlife Response
Team is directed by IBRRC. With financial help from IFAW,
a giant rehabilitation center was created in an old railroad
yard. Thousands of volunteers from around the world were taught
how to wash, feed and rehabilitate the birds.
The massive effort paid off. Over 90% of the 20,251
oiled African penguins treated, including several thousand
of chicks which would surely have died, were successfully
rehabilitated and released. The Animal Planet segment features
footage from the spill and interviews with Holcomb and members
of his team. Viewers should check local listings for times.
In February 2002, IBRRC celebrates its 31st anniversary.
The non-profit organization was born out of a devastating
spill that occurred when two tankers collided beneath the
Golden Gate Bridge in 1971. Little was known about oiled bird
care at that time and despite the courageous, attempts of
hundreds of volunteers, only 300 of the 7,000 birds collected
survived.
Holcomb, a veteran of over 100 oil spills, headed
up the search and rescue program during the Exxon Valdez Spill
(1989) in Prince William Sound, the largest of its kind ever
attempted at that time. He travels the world teaching, training
and helping other countries set up oiled wildlife response
protocols.
IBRRC’s headquarters in Cordelia is located
at the San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care and Education
Center, 4369 Cordelia Road. A second a center in San Pedro,
California, is managed by IBRRC and is also part of the Oiled
Wildlife Care Network, a series of 24 centers funded by the
California Department of Fish & Game Office of Spill Prevention
and Response (OSPR) and managed by UC Davis. Since November
24, 2001, the Cordelia center has cared for over 1,200 birds
oiled in the San Mateo Mystery spill, the source of which
remains unknown.
Both centers operate 365 days a year on a non-profit
basis caring for thousands of birds that are injured and orphaned
or oiled.
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