Just a year ago, when the Cosco Busan spilled tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the Bay, residents all over the Bay Area wanted to help birds and marine mammals affected by the spill.
But because of the chaos of the cleanup and following investigation, and a lack of formal training for some, many people were unable to do much but watch as the disaster unfolded.
Hoping to prevent the same situation from happening again, two Bay Area nonprofit organizations — WildRescue of Moss Landing, and the International Bird Rescue Research Center, based in Fairfield — are teaming up to offer several classes in the East Bay in the coming weeks that will teach students how to best help injured or oiled animals and birds.
"Through the years, I've realized that one of the biggest challenges in getting wildlife treatment is getting the finder — the public — to the right place," said Rebecca Dmytryk, who founded WildRescue in 2000. "Out of the Cosco Busan oil spill, I realized there was a lack of information out there and the public didn't understand the structure in which (the rescue operation) works. This is one way to satisfy the public's desire for knowing what to do and how to help an animal, and encourage them to work within the system."
Dmytryk said the classes are for anyone interested in learning about animal and bird rescue, whether they work with animals regularly or are just animal lovers. Those who participate will learn about natural history, laws and regulations, what equipment to use in rescue, what capture strategies will and will not work, how to stay safe, how to keep animals and birds safe and as calm as possible, and when it is best not to rescue an animal.
"Some animals should not be rescued," Dmytryk explained. "It is harmful for some animals with minor injuries to come into captivity and get stressed out."
By Shelly Meron, Staff writer, MercuryNews.com
Read more: Training available for animal rescue volunteers
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