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Kemp's ridley turtles that had become stranded along the shore of Cape Cod were recently rescued by Massachusetts Audubon Society (MAS) volunteers and transported to three facilities in Florida at which they are currently being rehabilitated.
After being discovered, the Kemp's ridleys, members of one of the most highly endangered turtle species in the world, were taken to the nearby MAS Wellfleet Wildlife Sanctuary. They later were brought to the New England Aquarium.
Eight of the turtles are currently at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, four are being cared for at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, and three are now at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
All 15 will be released off of the coast of Cape Canaveral in the spring.
Some Kemp's ridleys ride the warm Gulf Stream waters up from Mexico to feeding grounds along the eastern coast of the United States during the summer. The turtles leave to return to Mexico in early fall because of the decrease in temperature, but some become trapped in shallow bays, which are warmer and thus more appealing than the surrounding deeper waters.
Wildlife conservations believe that the Kemp's ridley is currently in the earliest stages of recovery from its low point during the 1980s when there were only about 400 of the turtles remaining. The conservationists credit both the posting of armed guards at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico to protect Kemp's ridleys from poaching at their only nesting site and the use of turtle exclusion devices on shrimp nets, which allow turtles to escape, for the population increase.
© 2002 Animal News Center,
Inc.
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