By Jeff Pantukhoff | Project Leader
It's been over a year since BP's oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, eventually leaking more than 200 million gallons of oil and unleashing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
According to a recent report that analyzed the spill's true toll on wildlife, its estimated that about 6,000 sea turtles, a staggering 82,000 birds, and 26,000 dolphins and whales were likely harmed by the spill.
Currently the research vessel Odyssey is in the Gulf for its second voyage since the disaster. She's been there for 40 days now and has collected over 40 sperm whale samples.
WOdyssee are also currently analyzing the data from the over 50 tissue samples from sperm, brydes, and humpback whales along with samples from 43 different species of fish that were collected on last year's voyage to help us determine the baseline contaminate load for the Gulf and its creatures.
With your continued support, we plan to return to the Gulf over the next decade to document what happens there and to continue this critical work. We thank you all for your support!
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