Endangered Sea Turtle Eggs To Be Moved During Oil Spill
By: Colin Clarke
Updated: July 9, 2010
Sea turtles who begin life along the Gulf Coast will be getting a new home while the massive BP oil spill is dealt with.
Starting today, a group of wildlife experts, volunteers and FedEx will take part in a relocation effort involving more than 50-thousand sea turtle eggs.
They'll be moved from the northwest coast of Florida and Alabama to Florida's east coast, which will provide them a safer swim in the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Chuck Underwood tells "USA Today" that without assistance, it's "highly unlikely" the upcoming generation would survive in the Gulf's oil-tainted waters.
The eggs will be moved within a week of hatching from about 600 to 800 nests across the Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.
The eggs will be put in coolers with sand, and taken by FedEx in climate-controlled vehicles to a high-security facility at Kennedy Space Center on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
After hatching, the young sea turtles will be released at night to help keep predators away.
The U.S. Wildlife Service is coordinating the relocation with Florida's wildlife commission and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service.
(Copyright 2010 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)













