OILED WILDLIFE REHABILITATION Archives -

I Choose Love

By Simone Lipscomb | September 15, 2013

The past week’s meditations have been about connecting with animals…wildlife and domesticated. It has been challenging. Once we determine to be aware of what is happening in our world, we can never go back and forget. I discovered this while documenting the oil spill in 2010.

simonelipscomb (1) — Necropsy of young dolphin whose tail had been entangled in fishing line.

Ignoring news was my way to deal with the multitude of sins humanity commits against the planet. But when the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred, I felt called to action. Ignoring was no longer an option. But it came with a cost. My life was changed and not in a good way. Once the blinders are off, there’s no going back into forgetfulness. No returning to blissful ignorance.

Fishing line discarded with hook...now embedded in sea gull's mouth/throat — Fishing line discarded with hook…now embedded in sea gull’s mouth/throat

So this week of meditating on animals has only served to remind me (as IF I needed reminding) of how humans perpetuate such darkness by our actions. Lack of compassion when killing for food, using fishing practices that harm sea turtles and marine mammals, not recognizing the spark of Spirit within all life….how can we do this and think it’s okay?

Northern Gannet being cleaned of oil in 2010. BP Deepwater Horizon spill.

There are excuses for all behaviors we practice. Haven’t we heard them all? Sacrifice the land to drill for oil with fracking procedures. Pollute the rivers because it’s cheaper. Deafen dolphins, whales and other sea creatures just to test sonar. Is anyone else just fed up? The grief I carry within is so vast, so deep I truly feel paralyzed at times by it. I look in the mirror and am ashamed that I am human…part of a species bent on destruction and selfish greed…profit at any cost.

Joanna Macy teaches us to stay with our grief for it will fuel us to make positive changes. Right now…and for the past several months….grief has simply clobbered me. And I’m not writing to generate sympathy for myself…not at all. But it is time to simply be totally truthful about what it feels like to be a human engaged in the planetary process…at least from my heart and mind.

I’m tired of pretending it will all be okay or things will magically get better. I am weary of humans ignoring responsibilities we have to clean up our messes and to stop doing destructive practices to our planet, each other…wildlife…domestic life.

I am crying out for an end to our closed hearts and an opening to love…to spiritual love that binds us to each other and all life. Living like we have been living is fast becoming an obsolete option. We have seen what living with closed hearts does to each other and the planet…ALL life on the planet. I refuse to live like that any longer. At the risk of standing alone I choose love. I choose an open heart!

I choose love. No matter the consequences. I choose love.

Finding Balance in Working with Nature

By Simone Lipscomb | August 16, 2012

I’m immersed in sea turtle research. Stacks of books lay scattered about my office and every time I open one I learn something new and wonderful about these amazing creatures. There are scientific books with hard science and data, touchy-feely books that embrace the ancient symbols of spirituality that sea turtles embody, and there are a couple of books that fulfill both the language of science and symbology.

Carl Safina, in his book Voyage of the Turtle, writes of leatherback sea turtles, “Their mute plea, as they attempt to carry on as always, is that we will understand, while there’s time, the connections within this water-bound planet.” He’s writing about the shrinking world and the loss of life on the planet.

Being an advocate for wildlife species means going beyond the cold science and hard facts of data and interpreting beyond biology to something greater. What does the species need to survive? What can its potential loss teach humans? This is vital because mainstream humanity will ignore hard facts and scientific studies but will connect on a deeper level where beauty exists. And beauty cannot be measured by tissues samples, counting spent eggs or the dead trapped in a nest.

Yet both sides are vital to preservation and conservation of species. We must have the scientific data so we have estimates of population sizes, health of the species, and genetic tendencies. But ignoring our heart-felt, compassionate connection is what allowed the damage to the planet and wildlife species to be done in the first place.
Years ago physicians were not instructed in wellness or body-mind-spirit of their patients. It was all hard science. Studies show that patients have a better chance of being healthy when their physician treats them as a whole, not just as a physical body. I wonder if wildlife biologists and volunteers approached their work with animals from a holistic approach how the species would respond. Verbal language is not the only valid language and more studies show this, too, is true.

There is a place for science and compassion to dwell side-by-side. A place where the wellbeing of one turtle is as important as 90. Where wolves are seen as vital parts of an ecosystem, not villains and where great white sharks are seen as an important apex predators, not human-eating-machines. I believe we can find that balance as we work to heal ourselves and this beautiful water planet. What about you?

Blue Dawn

By Simone Lipscomb | June 20, 2012

Today’s sea turtle nest patrol didn’t yield a new nest or crawls but it yielded over 100 pounds of trash in a mile and a half stretch of beach. My regular patrol volunteer buddy couldn’t walk today so I walked by myself. I arrived at the beach before 5am and took time exposure photographs of the Gulf. The water looks magically calm and surreal in the images but in reality it was quite rough.The high seas add to the regular beach trash by dumping all manner of junk along the shoreline.

When I got to my turnaround point I saw another volunteer and she had ‘mistakenly’ walked the beach looking for nests. I was busily picking up trash, as I made the return trip, with a bag I had secured from the kind folks at Gulf State Park Pier. Lu and I filled the bag to the point where we had to empty it three times. A 30 minute walk to over 2.5 hours to do while picking up litter. Here’s a sample of what we found:

Plastic drink bottles, plastic water bottles, glass beer bottles, been cans, soda cans, two disposable diapers, a plastic tampon applicator, over 100 plastic bottle tops, plastic bins, plastic tubs, oil containers, balloons, kites, string, monofilament fishing line, fishing leaders, latex gloves, flip flops, broken sun glasses, cheap snorkeling masks, wool sock, countless kids plastic beach toys, plastic floats, candy wrappers, foil drink (Capri sun) plastic straws, styrofoam cups and plates and pieces, plastic cups, pieces of large plastic ‘things,’ large plastic water bottle (for a cooler), half an Otterbox brief case encased with all kinds of ocean life, food wrappers, foil, unidentifiable plastic things…..and on and on and on. There were also cigarette butts by the thousands that we didn’t pick up. The problem with EVERYTHING we picked up and the cigarette butts is that none of it degrades, decomposes…goes away. At least not for a VERY long time.

Here’s the time frame of decomposition for some of the trash we found:

Wool sock–1 to 5 years, cigarette butts–10-12 years, foamed plastic cups–50 years, plastic containers–50-80 years, aluminum can–200-500 years, plastic bottles–450 years, disposable diapers–550 years, monofilament fishing line–600 years, plastic bags–200-1000 years.

Take a minute and think about this….breathe it in and sit with it. (Pause).

Just yesterday I read an article on recycling cigarette butts. Did you know they are made of plastic? They don’t decompose as some may think. A cigarette tossed on the ground is there to stay for a LONG time.The filter is made of the same material as plastic bags. One company is making guitar picks and other happy things from cigarette butts instead of the butts being put into land fields or worse, ending up on the ground. Cigarette butts are the most common type of litter found.

Yesterday I read an article by a favorite reporter of mine, Dahr Jamail. Oceans of Pollution, is an important read for all concerned about the health of our planet. Jamail quotes a study that warns, “without profound and prompt changes in human behavior, we will cause a ‘mass extinction in the oceans with unknown ecological consequences.'” He also quotes Alanna Mitchell, “Every tear you cry…ends up back in the ocean system. Every third molecule of carbon dioxide you exhale is absorbed into the ocean. Every second breath you take comes from the oxygen produced by plankton.”

If our plankton dies in the ocean, we die. It’s as simple as that. The ocean produces the majority of oxygen we breathe…even if you happen to live in the center of a continent with no access to the ocean, the ocean is what gives you oxygen. As plastic gets more deeply rooted into our ocean food chain, we are seeing more ill effects and consequences from the toxins used to create it. We are quite literally killing our ocean and therefore, killing ourselves.

As Lu and I walked, several people came up and thanked us, one guy expressed his love of the planet, another young man expressed his frustration at how people can be in the presence of such beauty and completely miss it and trash it. A few people actually helped us along the way. Some hung their head in shame as we carried the heavy bag, filled with human-generated pollution and as I made eye contact, I saw their grief at what, collectively, we are doing to our planet.

It was no coincidence that two strong articles came across my desk yesterday and today I found myself surrounded and astounded by a mountain of trash in just a mile and a half of Gulf of Mexico beach. We no longer have the luxury of turning away when we see places like this. We must breathe deep and connect with our compassion for all life and do whatever we can to make a positive difference. We can no longer luxuriate in anger, frustration, hopelessness. Now is the time to be active stewards of our Ocean.

Wolf Spirit

By Simone Lipscomb | November 25, 2010

The wolf approached me from behind as I sat on the ground with my cameras. He reached over my shoulder, bringing his face next to mine. I closed my eyes and he gently licked my neck.

Something shifted within me at that moment. A wild part of me was freed and I felt myself trust my own wildness, just as I trusted the wolf.

I was attending a program on wolves and was photographing them and their interactions with people. The crowd was thinning out and I was on the ground getting some really great shots of their faces. While focusing on one wolf, the other wolf became interested in me. The handler told me the wolf had been trying to reach me but I was just out of reach of his restraint. When he was able to touch me, it was evident he wanted to connect. I put my cameras aside and stroked him, while verbalizing my appreciation for his spirit.

When he reached for my neck, I surrendered in total trust. It was more than an internal shift–it was a leap toward my own nature.

———–
Human fear nearly wiped out the wild wolf population in our country. How sad that we project our fear onto innocents. Innocent?, you ask. There has never been any confirmed attack and killing of a human by a healthy wolf. Tales of terror have been programmed into our psyches, but wolves are almost exactly the opposite of what we’ve been told. They are social, friendly, and highly intelligent. They have a tremendous sense of family and have a strong ‘wolf’ code the family groups live by. Wolves use body language to communicate and learn at an early age to read movements, glances, and other gestures and assign great meaning to them. Wild wolves avoid humans through their sense of smell that is said to be 100 times greater than our olfactory ability. Ted Andrew’s says, “Many believe that the true test of America’s sincerity about protecting the environment will revolve around whether or not the wolf remains protected and is allowed to be reintroduced into areas of the country where it has heretofore been eliminated. The wolf is the true spirit of the free and unspoiled wilderness.”

Dare to Look Closer–Update on the Gulf of Mexico

By Simone Lipscomb | October 26, 2010

Today was my first day back at the Gulf Coast since mid-September. After torrential rains last night, the day cleared off nicely and left a very beautiful afternoon. As I walked the beach at Gulf State Park Pier, I noticed many gulls and terns resting on the beach, rough water, hefty wind and a haze that happens when wind picks up salt spray.

Great news was coquina shells in the surf zone…ones that were alive and working to feed by burying into the sand. Last time I visited I saw no evidence of live coquinas at any beach. I was thrilled! Sanderlings were running up to the quickly-burrowing bi-valves trying to catch a meal before it disappeared. I was feeling very hopeful and excited for the ecosystem.

The blowing haze was not really bothersome. The beach is often hazy when the water is rough. I noticed slight bubbly, oily mousse on the water but not as much as I had seen before so I didn’t think much of it. Had I lapsed into the kind of person I blog about? That apathetic humanoid?

I decided to wander over to the sea oats and bury a crystal a friend had sent me to place on the beach as a gift to the Gulf, a token thank you and ‘get well soon’ gift. When I approached the sea oats I noticed they were glistening. Hmm. I took my fingers and pinched a blade of the grass and ran it the distance of it. Surprise, surprise!! I looked and there was a light coating of oil on my fingers.

It wasn’t dirt or mold. It was slick like…ummmm…like oil. It smelled slightly of oil. I remembered, while kneeling in the sand, hearing Rear Admiral Mary (GAG) Landry state back in June or July that they knew for certain that the oil could not become air born. Pardon me Mary, but it is air borne. Oh, but didn’t the government and BP say the oil is mostly gone? Gone meaning dispersed to the point where the wind can actually push it further inland, making it an airborne toxin? Oh, yes. It’s gone. Sure…GONE INTO THE AIR! If you, my reader friends, were under the impression that BP and the government told the truth well, don’t hold your breath…or maybe…DO hold your breath.

In addition to the oily mousse on the beach and in the air, I saw an old friend on the beach. I took images and video of this gull a month ago. His foot webbing is eaten away and his leg is broken and sticks out at an odd angle yet he is still alive, still flying and has learned to scratch his head with the floppy foot and leg. I noticed webbing in shorebird’s feet with holes in it when I was here in July, when the oil was at its thickest on the Alabama coast.

I wanted so badly to begin my week here with positive news that would make everyone sit back and have a big, contented sigh. Or maybe…just maybe…I was wanting to find everything magically restored like I keep reading on the press releases BP and the Coast Guard keep sending me. “Another 5000 square miles of the Gulf are open…eat more seafood.” And yes…there are improvements. Each time I return there are improvements. Yet what is happening to wildlife exposed to constant oil-ladden winds? What is happening to the clean-up workers who are in it 12 hours a day? What about people like me who wander the beaches?

I suppose my main question is why has mainstream media disappeared and left wildlife, the water, the plants, the air, and for God sake, the PEOPLE, as if everything is fine and all is well? I am so weary of hearing that it’s all good here on the coast. I want as much as anyone to be able to give all wonderful, happy news about the oil spill recovery. I want this precious, sacred land and water to be clean and pristine. I long for it, I weep for it.

Alas, it is a mixed report of positive news with serious concerns about the air quality and the eventual fallout for all wildlife, plant life and humans that live or visit here. In a year how many birds will be left on this coastline? Can they reproduce due to constant contact with contaminates and if so, what will be the genetic consequences their offspring will live with? What about fish and shellfish and marine mammals constantly exposed to this “low level” soup of crude oil?

I came back to my mother’s and showered immediately, not even taking the time to capture the beautiful Mobile Bay sunset beckoning from her front yard. I was far more concerned about removing the coating of toxins I was wearing.