How are whales cleaned up during oil spills?
A. We’re tempted to say that whales are cleaned by running them through car washes…but that’s not true. While we are very concerned whenever a spill occurs in an area where marine mammals like whales can be found, we rarely ever actually see oil on whales. However, this doesn’t mean that oil doesn’t affect whales. For example, research studies indicate that a pod (group) of resident orca (“killer”) whales (Orcinus orca) in Prince William Sound, Alaska, has suffered some pretty severe impacts from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, because the number of whales in the pod has decreased steadily and significantly since the spill. Normally, the population of these animals is quite stable and changes occur very slowly over a long period of time. Members of this pod were observed in areas where oil was visible on the water in 1989. So, even though no one saw oil on whales, there is strong indirect evidence that the oil did impact them. If spill responders ever were to encounter a whale with oil
