KRASNODAR, March 7 (RIA Novosti) - Volunteers are planning to remain in the Kerch Strait to help birds affected by a November oil spill until the summer, a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Russia said on Friday.
A storm in the Kerch Strait, which joins the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, sank four ships and an oil tanker on November 11. The incident resulted in about 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil spilling into the sea.
Experts said some 50,000 birds had so far died as a result of the oil slick. The oil penetrates the bird's plumage causing hypothermia, and they also ingest the oil, causing internal damage.
Without human intervention they usually die.
Dozens of wild birds are currently being treated in a WWF center in the Krasnodar Region, south Russia. Volunteers from all over Russia are involved in the rescue operation.
