Turtles have been in the news a lot lately, it seems. Rather than point out each and every turtley tid-bit I've found, I thought it'd be easier to do a round-up of the most turtle-icious news:
- A 2-inch-long turtle somehow survived the trip in a cement truck, through the truck's pump, up to the fifth floor, and then under the finishing machines that drove over it. It was rescued by a laborer before the concrete hardened.
- Researchers in Padre Island recently discovered 10 Kemps-Ridley turtle nests in the area, which shatters the previous of record of, um, less than 10. Moreover, those 10 nests yielded 921 eggs, which should hatch in June. Subsequent to the discovery, the researchers outfitted three of the turtles with transmitters, so they could track their movements. However, despite the early successes, scientists fear a dune restoration project in the area could devastate the animals. [Via Dive Photo Guide]
- Considering Kemp-Ridley turtles appear to be on the brink of a comeback -- there numbers have increased dramatically recently -- scientists are urging the US and Mexico to provide increased levels of protection along their migratory paths. As such, they're calling for an international sea turtle swimway.
- In the 1960s, as many as 10,000 turtles per year would visit Malaysian beaches to hatch their eggs, prompting the country to adopt it as its official mascot. Last year, three turtles laid eggs there. Consequently, the chief minister is pushing to drop the turtle as the country's symbol and adopt the clown fish (which is "more agile and dynamic") as the new mascot. Conservationists cynically point out that the minister prefers the clown fish, "because it's not dead." [Via Asia dive Site]
- Scientists who had tagged a leatherback to study its migration were shocked to learn that it had traveled from the UK to the Cape Verde Islands -- a journey of more than 5000 miles.
- Delaware recently engaged in a man-made dune restoration project that a half-dozen diamondback terrapin turtles liked so much that they decided to build nests, lay eggs, and produce 49 hatchlings there.
Do you have any other turtle news?
