As we all know, the huge BP oil spill has cause some major damage to our wildlife. Thankfully studies have shown that Dawn dish washing detergent gets rid of the grease and is also gentle enough for the animals as well as human hands. In the past other things were used such as bird washing machines which injured the birds each time causing them to die. During the 50's and 60's, "different substances were applied to the feathers of oiled birds, some of which were: mascara remover, butter, lard, powdered chalk, waterless hand cleaner, acetone, detergent and various oils." None worked very well, which led to one not-so-bright idea in the early 70's. At that time, oiled birds were covered with warmed mineral oil and then corn meal, thought to absorb the oils.The IBRRC and other groups next tried certain solvents and cleansers, most of which were difficult to rinse out and were irritating to the skin and feathers of the animals, and bothered the human staff as well. IBRRC founder Alice Berkner and her team then started to try out "off the shelf" dishwashing detergents and "one, and only one, stood out above all others...Dawn dish washing detergent. This soap has helped save many lives of animals that need to live in our oceans and have become covered in oil and are now suffering a slow death. It has been made public knowledge that although Dawn dish washing detergent is great for cleaning these animals covered in oil, it should not be used for household pets. This is just a means to help our wildlife that has fallen victim to human error.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/dawn-detergent-oil-spills-animals.html