Wildlife rehabilitators are decontaminating dozens of alligators, brushing their pointy teeth and scrubbing their scaly hides in the weeks after a pipeline rupture dumped 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel into a New Orleans area wetland.
This undated photo provided by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, shows cleanup work at the site where more than 300,000 gallons of diesel spilled on Dec. 27, 2021, just outside New Orleans. An October 2020 inspection revealed external corrosion along a 22-foot section of pipe in the same area as the spill.
She said nearly all of the spill went into two artificial ponds, and only the smaller pond was completely covered with diesel. The spilled fuel killed about 2,300 fish in two pits from which dirt was once excavated for construction. Most were minnows and bait fish, Carver said, along with some shad, gar, sunfish and small bass.
Birds and smaller reptiles get their mouths swabbed out, often as they're captured or when they're brought in, Carver said.