One of three leaks at a ruptured well spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico has been capped, officials announced Wednesday morning.

The Coast Guard says oil company BP has managed to cap one of three leaks at a deepwater oil well, but the work is not likely to significantly reduce the overall flow of oil into the Gulf.

Coast Guard Petty Officer David Mosley said the cap applied Tuesday night should reduce the number of leak points that need to be fixed on the ocean floor.

BP officials have said that fewer leaks will make it easier to drop a larger containment box on the breach.

The well has been spewing at least 210,000 gallons per day since an April 20 explosion at a rig 50 miles off Louisiana – 11 people were killed.

Environmentalists warn the chemicals being used to clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could create a “toxic soup.”

Planes have been spraying 60,000 gallons of dispersants a day, which helps break up the oil.

Officials said the dispersants have “fairly low toxicity,” but scientists say they’re threatening the Gulf’s fragile ecosystem as it tries to survive the massive leak.

Now, experts say more than 600 animal species are threatened by the expanding oil slick that’s been creeping toward the Florida coast.

Some 445 species of fish, 134 birds, 45 mammals, and 32 reptiles and amphibians are at risk, according to Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

(Source: NY Daily News)