27 June 2010 by Pet Rescue Examiner - Cheryl Hanna
With the joint efforts of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and New Orleans law firm Gauthier, Houghaling and Willliams, eleven Kemp's Ridley sea turtles found injured in South Mississippi are now settling in to their new homes at Sea World and Epcot Center at Disney World after being flown in by private jet. The Kemp's Ridley turtles are the most endangered of all cheloniids and live in a very restricted range, only nesting along a small part of the coastline in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sea World has already rescued 300 sea turtles this year when they were stunned by the cold, and now will be treating nine of the turtles for pneumonia. The other two will be rehabilitated at Disney World, and all will eventually be released back into the wild.
The turtles had been initially brought to the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport after being found with hooks in their mouths and guts. Dr. Moby Solangi, executive director of the institute states, " As the habitat is shrinking, the animals are moving closer to shore and they're looking for food. They were biting on the bait. This is the largest we have ever seen, animals on hooks."
Solangi and his staff have saved 30 turtles out of over 200 found dead and need the room for new survivors being brought to the facility. A few months ago, five of the turtles were sent to Mole Marine Lab in Sarasota and later released in the Florida Keys.
The Department of Marine Resources has been distributing new guidelines for the handling of injured turtles and disengaging sea turtles from fishing gear. Anyone seeing an injured turtle is asked to call IMMS at 888-SOS-DOLPHIN or ( 888-767-3657)
GO BACK