Escape!
Ron Wooten, Platform Observer/Whale Watch, Galveston Lab, National Marine Fisheries Service. Taken on April 29, 2010, a few miles from the Deepwater Horizon epicenter. Flying along the miles of oil, we noticed many changes in its consistency. Heavy crude gave way to sheen and long lines of mousse. As we flew closer to one of these areas of mousse, we noticed a great mass of creatures burst swimming through the lines, oblivious to their presence, as they would emerge through and dive into these areas of oil. Closer examination of the group showed approximately 100-150 striped dolphin, swimming with great haste through these lines. This photo was cropped and has been on the NOS website, but the wider view of this photo helps give a sense of the magnitude of those horribly great lines of mousse.