Slick busters

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.