Nov 26, 2007 6:14 pm US/Pacific
SF Bay Oil Spill Death Toll Exceeds 2,000 Birds
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
More than 2,000 birds have died as a result of the Nov. 7 Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay, according to updated numbers released by the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday.
According to the Coast Guard, 1,591 birds have been discovered dead since the spill, and another 534 have died at cleaning and treatment facilities.
A total of 773 birds have been cleaned of oil, and 188 have been released back into the wild, the Coast Guard reported.
The spill affected more than a dozen species of birds, including endangered species.
The November 7th crash of the 900-foot container ship into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge tower in heavy fog released 58,000 gallons of toxic bunker fuel into the Bay, more than 19,000 gallons of which has since been recovered, according to the Coast Guard.
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