About 15-20 thousand birds have already died as a result of the fuel oil spill after the accident of Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait, but "this is only the visible part of the iceberg," Ivan Rusev, a biologist and head of the research department of the Tuzly Estuaries National Park, told Krym.Realii , UNN reports.
There are still a lot of birds floating in the sea. They are under stress and soon they will be back on shore. This catastrophe is more complicated than the catastrophe of 2007, when, according to official data alone, 30 thousand birds died,
According to Rusev, as soon as a bird is exposed to fuel oil or oil film, it becomes highly stressed and intoxicated.
Theoretically, those birds that are washed and released have very little chance of survival. I estimate, based on the different information I receive from different parts of the world, that at least 90% die. The 10% that theoretically survive have a chance of dying because their thermoregulation is disrupted,
Recall
The coasts of occupied Feodosia, Alushta, and Sudak have suffered from fuel oil pollution. Satellite images showed stains near ports and along the coastline, and environmentalists warn of possible consequences.