Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Birds, Fish, Crabs Coated

Shouldering the weight of heavy oil spewed from the Gulf of Mexico's Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a brown pelican struggles in sludgy surf on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana, Friday.
Nearly 800 dead birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and other animals have been found in the Gulf and on its shores, according to federal authorities cited by the Associated Press.
But the real story may be the rate at which animals are being affected by oil, which appears to have accelerated drastically in recent days.