Moving the Turtles: 700 nests headed to NASA
In a massive effort to ensure survival, the federal government is allowing the relocation of sea turtle nests to the Kennedy Space Center. An article from TheCalifornian.com explains the process:
"It's still very early in the season, but we're pleased with the emergent success from that first nest,'' said Barbara Schroeder, national sea turtle coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"There is a huge amount of oil in the Gulf, and it's still circulating in the water,'' Schroeder said. ``I don't think this means we can stop moving the nests.''
Federal officials rarely allow nests for these endangered and threatened species to be moved because it's risky. The embryos attach themselves to their eggshell, and the wrong movement could disturb that tenuous connection and kill them.
But the oil spill made such a controversial operation necessary, and federal officials consulted with several turtle experts to develop a plan that lessens the potential harm as much as possible.
Because turtle eggs take an average of 60 days to incubate, eggs won't be moved until after the 50-day mark, when the turtles are more developed and hardier. The only people allowed to handle the eggs have training and experience in digging the nests by hand (no shovels allowed) and then lifting each egg, one by one, so that it is never turned, rolled or flipped over. The eggs are packed into sand-filled coolers, which are then fit snugly into pallets that have extra shock absorbers attached.
Here's to hoping it is a success.
With 482 turtles found dead and 167 turtles found alive but impacted by oil, last week's good news about sea turtle releases in the Gulf isn't looking as good this week: Federal biologists are releasing thousands of endangered baby sea turtles into the w
Tracked: Jul 27, 19:33