A heavily oiled bird struggles to climb onto a boom from the waters of Barataria Bay, which are laden with oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in Barataria Bay, La., Saturday, June 26, 2010. A Deadly Toll: The Gulf Oil Spill and the Unfolding Wildlife Disaster Last year’s BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe spilled 205.8 million gallons of oil and 225,000 tons of methane into the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 25 percent of the oil was recovered, leaving more than 154 million gallons of oil at sea. In addition to the oil, The Deepwater Horizon explosion may have also killed a sperm whale. NOAA spotted the mammal floating 77 miles south of the spill site. To put these numbers in perspective after 1989’s Exxon Valdez ran aground off Prince William Sound 250-thousand birds were killed as were 2800 otters.