Turtles

Go read: (warning, also has picture slideshow, sad, graphic)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

Gulf Oil Spill: The Plight of the Sea Turtle by Dan Froomkin at HuffPo 7/2/2010

In the case of the most endangered species, the Kemp’s ridley turtle, hatchlings leaving their nests in Mexico this season are swimming right into the heart of the spill area, where their instinct to seek shelter and prey among floating vegetation is betraying them by leading them straight to thick clots of oil and oil-soaked seaweed.

There, instead of finding security and food, they are getting poisoned, trapped and asphyxiated.

And if that weren’t tragic enough, it turns out that shrimp boats hired by BP to corral floating oil with booms and set it on fire have been burning hundreds if not thousands of the young turtles alive.

Help. photo NOAA , of oiled Ridley’s Sea Turtle

Because the original is so oftentimes better than the description in the “can’t make this up” category, here is the latest press release from the Government’s Deepwater Horizon Incident JIC page:

http://www.deepwaterhorizonres…

NEW ORLEANS — The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is proud to announce that FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is joining the efforts to protect sea turtle nests and eggs from potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The company will be donating resources to transport hundreds of nests containing thousands of eggs to Florida’s Atlantic Coast and its logistics experts are working the Unified Command and its partner organizations to implement this complex translocation. The relocation efforts are scheduled to begin in mid-July and continue throughout the hatching season.

FedEx is working closely with Unified Command Wildlife Branch scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA and other partners to create the safest transportation solution for the relocation effort. FedEx will take extensive precautions to protect the sea turtle nests and eggs, which will travel exclusively in its FedEx Custom Critical air-ride, temperature-controlled vehicles.

“In light of the imminent threat to sea turtles, we felt it was important to help move this extraordinary project forward,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director of NFWF. “Given our strong partnership with FedEx and our long standing relationship with the federal agencies, we were able to move quickly to develop an effective plan. We’ll continue to work with all parties so that this relocation offers the best hope for sea turtles’ survival.”

FedEx provides logistics expertise, in-kind shipping and funding for disaster preparedness, relief and recovery, working with organizations including the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Heart to Heart International. A FedEx-sponsored Salvation Army disaster response unit is in use to support responders to the oil leak right now. In 2006, FedEx donated its transportation services to deliver more than 1.2 million pounds of medical and other relief supplies to the Gulf Coast area in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

NFWF is supporting a number of wildlife projects in the Gulf region and is helping to coordinate the work of federal agencies, biologists and others who will be involved in the massive transport effort. The Foundation, established by Congress in 1984, is a non-profit conservation organization that works closely with federal agencies and private sector partners to protect wildlife and natural resources.

No word yet on whether or not the beaches in Florida will have to be at home and able to answer the phone or doorbell at the time of the delivery, or wait until the next scheduled package delivery on that route after the weekend and on the next business working day.

Help. I’ve lost my habitat.

photo from US Govt. flickerstream, Deepwater Horizon Response, 6/10/2010 UC Davis

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update 7/2/10 : they’re going to hatch the eggs in a climate controlled warehouse, release them, and hope the turtles know where to return years later. http://www.marconews.com/news/…

Tag: Turtles

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Froomkin: Plight of the Sea Turtle

Govt To Fed Ex Sea Turtle Eggs to Florida Coast