ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition: Documenting the Gulf Disaster is a Crude Awakening

July 9, 2010 - PRLog -- Gulf Coast–World Animal Awareness Society began documenting the Gulf disaster and its effects on wildlife in May.  In June, a team of trained disaster responders from Kinship Circle joined the efforts.  For more than 2 months our volunteers have witnessed and filmed a record of events in the oil polluted states that highlight positive progress in the Gulf, as well as the devastation to the wildlife and their habitats.  ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition (AEOTGE) photos and videos, along with imagery and updates from government agencies, Gulf residents, and other non-government organizations, are posted on an interactive map. Visit WA2S.org and click on the map to see the video and photos from these and other stories.

While embedded on the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) boat, Kinship Circle’s Esther Regelson and Darla Wolak spot a juvenile roseate spoonbill. The oiled bird fights to stay atop an oil boom. The sighting is called in, but the boat captain cannot bear to watch the bird struggle to keep from drowning. The bird is rescued, brought to emergency triage, and transferred to IBRRC Fort Jackson Rehabilitation Center for care. During one of our regular visits to the Rehabilitation Center, we learn that this bird will survive.

Sadly, USFWS statistics show more death than survival. World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S) Executive Director Tom McPhee, with volunteer Jonathan Shurtz, encounter a deceased dolphin washed ashore in Pass Christian, MS. The dolphin, possibly pregnant, had signs of oil residue around her mouth. Wildlife rescuers from the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies were on-site to gather her remains for a necropsy.

This week the AEOTGE team has been focusing on the plight of the sea turtles.  We have partnered with Chris Pincetich and Wallace J Nichols of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and will follow their work with the species.  Our unique access to the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species has allowed us to interview the staff, film the rehabilitation process, and ask the question on everyone’s mind: Will these already endangered sea turtles survive this disaster?

About ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition (AEOTGE) – Tom McPhee, Executive Director of the World Animal Awareness Society – WA2S.org visited the Gulf shortly after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion to survey the area, research access through the Unified Command system, and determine the need for further visual data collection as it pertains to the wildlife affected by this oil spill.  After his initial trip Tom created the ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition.  The AEOTGE is a scientific expedition to collect visual data and provide an accurate window for the world to view the current circumstances.  Our team has unique relationships with individuals and organizations in the region and is filming from not only ground level, but also aerial and underwater.

Video dedicated to the volunteers.  Song "Rise Again, provided by HUSH.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEtM5ZzDyA8



About World Animal Awareness Society - WA2S.org - The mission of the World Animal Awareness Society is to focus a lens on a wide range of human-animal interactions in order to have a filmed record of our behavior in expectation that it will create a window to observe human evolution. The moving image is arguably the rawest, most powerful educational tool we have to witness our behavioral patterns, attitudes and interactions and aid us in our continued growth. Visit the World Animal Awareness Society website and click donate to support our efforts in the Gulf http://www.WA2S.org

About Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid - Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes volunteers, supplies, and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. If you are interested in volunteering in the Gulf, please visit and fill out this volunteer application: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/volunteer/

Washington Post's Pultizer Prize winning photojournalist Carol Guzy followed our team in June, see more here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/07/05/GA2010070502689.html?sid=ST2010070502831

Contacts:
Tom McPhee, 646-546-5640, mycavestudio@yahoo.com
Michelle Way, 310-734-6886, michelle.way@wa2s.org