The world’s largest centre for cleaning oily animals opened last week in
Santa Cruz, California. The centre can deal with up to 125 sea otters and 100
birds at a time as they are washed, blow-dried and housed during convalescence.
Each of 32 multiple-occupancy otter pens comes with its own small pool. Other
features include a surgery room and freezer for cadavers, which “we hope we’ll
never fill”, says a spokeswoman. Between disasters, the centre will be used for
wildlife research.
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