Posted: Jul 19, 2011 7:50 AM by David Jay (KTVQ Billings)
BILLINGS- A bald eagle and a Cooper's Hawk are among the latest potential victims of the ExxonMobil oil spill in the Yellowstone River.
Karen Nelson, an environmental contaminant specialist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, says her agency has received reports of an oiled bald eagle and a Cooper's Hawk among the critters soiled by the spilled crude oil. As to the extent of the damage to the eagle, Nelson says experts feel if will not make it thru the winter, if it's cannot be captured and treated.
Nelson provided a list of animals either observed or found with oil contamination along the Yellowstone. That list includes four Canada geese, of which one has been captured and is being washed by officials with the International Bird Rescue at their rehab facillity set up in Billings.
The list of dead animals includes one wood duck, two ducklings, two fish, one juvenile fox, a beaver, and two Great Horned Owls. Nelson said four of the dead animals had visible oil contamination on them.
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