Cleaning up
oil-covered birds |
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| 1/9 After the Spanish oil spill, we look at how the thousands of affected birds are cleaned up. | 2/9 First of all oil is wiped off their eyes and feathers, and they're given a check over by vets and helpers. |
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| 3/9 The birds are dehydrated so it's very important to give them a liquid including a mixture of charcoal and glucose. | 4/9 The charcoal is good for them because it helps to absorb the oil in their stomach - the glucose gives them energy. |
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| 5/9 At this stage the birds are still shocked so they're left alone to get some strength back. | 6/9 They're given some small fish to snack on - like sprats. Then they're given two or three washes with a detergent. |
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| 7/9 After that they're taken to a pool to test if they're still 'waterproof'. | 8/9 When they're shown to be water resistant they're given another check up to check they're feeding well and are the right weight. |
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| 9/9 Finally, when they're recovered they're released back into the wild. This process can take from a few days to a week. | |