This Week in Turtle News
Our leathery shelled friends have made the news multiple times this week:
Environmental groups Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network are all seeking extra protection for the leatherback sea turtle. Though the coast from Oregon to California is currently protected against drift gill net fishing for the few months of the year considered to be turtle migration periods, fishing gear in the area is still causing great harm.
So these organizations are doing what all Americans do when they want action: they are suing! They want these waters listed as “critical habitat,” which would make it a more heavily-monitored area. And given that the leatherback population continues to decrease, it’s not a bad idea. Good luck, team turtle!
BOO on you, Abdul Wahab, for trying to smuggle 1,000 baby turtles out of the Anna International Airport. Wahab thought he’d be able to sell them for a hefty price. The joke’s on you, Abdul. Besides, who the heck thinks he can smuggle 1,000 of any animal—and in bright red buckets at that?
The kind folks in Brockton, MA want to remind us to take care for crossing turtles this summer. Turtles breed in June, and will often cross our roads and highways to find a mate. Be sure to slow down or try to dodge turtles, and when it’s safe, help them cross the way—always in the direction they were heading to in the first place.
Just how serious is death by traffic for turtles? It’s serious enough where the loss of a single turtle can create a 30 year loss of reproduction.
And my favorite news of all: the release of rescued turtles back into the wild. These include the four endangered sea turtles from Georgia Sea Turtle Center, one of whom was caught in a fishing net. Two others were found starving and sick, and the fourth was hit by a boat, causing him to lose part of his shell and a flipper. After physical therapy and other treatment, these four were ready to go back into the ocean on Saturday.
In North Carolina, another 22 turtles were returned home to the ocean by the Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. The 14 greens and 8 loggerheads made up half of the center’s patients, and local children cheered them on—particularly for one turtle whom they’d rescued and named “Dixon.” Given that only 1 in 1000 sea turtle hatchlings survive, this is a great day for sea turtles.
