Endangered turtles hatch on Galveston beach

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

(8/08/07 - GALVESTON, TX) -- The mother of dozens of endangered turtle hatchlings must have had safety in mind when she laid her eggs underneath a sign directing tourists to a turtle help line.

When the eggs hatched Monday morning after six to eight weeks buried in the sand, beach umbrella renter Tristan Cahill didn't have to look far to find help for four turtles stuck in the sand. Their silver-dollar-sized brothers and sisters had waddled into the Gulf of Mexico surf.

"You could see all their tracks going to the water," Cahill said. "By the time I got there, some of the tourists were picking them up and taking them to the water like they were pets or something."

Cahill called 1-866-TURTLE-5 and specialists from the federal Fisheries Service Galveston laboratory arrived in about 10 minutes to collect the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle hatchlings.

Fisheries biologist Shanna Kethan said the researchers will keep the turtles in the lab until they're healthy enough to be released back into the water. When they're ready, the hatchlings will be taken off shore where survival chances are better.

"That way they don't have to run the gauntlet of shrimp boats and predators," Kethan said.

Monday's hatching is the seventh in Galveston this year, but only the first to occur in the wild.

Scientists try to excavate the nests as soon as the female turtle leaves the scene. Kethan said incubating the nests in the lab usually yields more hatchlings.

Last year, the laboratory recorded 10 Kemp's Ridley nests in Galveston.

Kemp's Ridley sea turtles have been on the endangered species list since 1970. It is one of the smallest of the sea turtles. Adults grow to about 2 feet in length and weigh up to 100 pounds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Monday's hatchlings have a good chance of returning to the same spot when they're ready to lay their own eggs in about 15 years. Kethan said the busy seawall beach does not dissuade the turtles from coming back.

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