Some 70,000 turtle eggs to be whisked far from oil

well - this sounds encouraging...

70,000 turtle eggs to be whisked far from oil

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — An effort to scoop thousands of turtle eggs from their nests to save them from death in the oily Gulf of Mexico will begin in the coming weeks in a desperate attempt to keep an entire generation of threatened species from vanishing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will coordinate the plan, which calls for collecting about 70,000 turtle eggs in up to 800 nests buried in the sand across Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.

It's never been done on such a massive scale. But doing nothing, experts say, could lead to unprecedented deaths. There are fears the turtles would be coated in oil and poisoned by crude-soaked food as they hatch and swim out to sea.

"This is an extraordinary effort under extraordinary conditions, but if we can save some of the hatchlings, it will be worth it as opposed to losing all of them," said Chuck Underwood of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We have a much higher degree of certainty that if we do nothing and we allow these turtles to emerge and go into the Gulf and into the oil ... that we could in fact lose most of them, if not all of them," he added. "There's a chance of losing a whole generation."

I hope that these turtles aren't the only species being thought of ... However, if this is accomplished I thank God for their action... May God Bless those of Good and Beneficial Action!

[edit on 6/30/2010 by Megiddodiddo]

reply to post by Megiddodiddo


This is great news and I too am happy that this is being done. Conservation of our wildlife should be held in high regard as far as I am concerned.

I also hope they are looking out for other species as well. It would be a shame to lose animals we could have saved.

They cannot suspend the process of development so I assume we just became Momma to them all! As Momma I hope we become very maternal and protect them to the best of our abilities.

To hatch them and then to release them is going to be precarious at best, we certainly do not have the capacity to house them without the Gulf in a pristine condition. I assume they are hoping a short-term solution presents itself by the time they hatch.

The Loggerheads have a worldwide range and hatch in 60 days; perhaps we can take these babies to another sea entirely.

The Ridley has a very limited range of the Gulf and up along the East Coast. This one needs to be housed in Aquariums around the World; even releasing them to the East of Florida does not ensure they will survive.

Kemp's Ridley turtle Range

I hope for the best for this Species! It is one of our Treasures and we may lose it forever!

reply to post by Megiddodiddo


Some 70,000 turtle eggs to be whisked far from oil

The title conjured up this image for me .....






All joking aside , it is heart warming to see this attempt to save these poor mis-fortunate creatures . Such a delicate task as excavating these eggs from the sand by hand, is most definitely a labour of love .
I wish them every success .



[edit on 30-6-2010 by UmbraSumus]

reply to post by Megiddodiddo


Yes, GOOD!

Some good news at last.

Wisk them little turtle eggs away!

reply to post by Greensage


Very good post.

You think outside the box.

The Loggerheads have a worldwide range and hatch in 60 days; perhaps we can take these babies to another sea entirely.

Yes, hopefully someone that oversees this will come to the same conclusion.

And in the darkness the light of love still shines
S&F x10! As well as my personal thanks for posting this.
N.