High-risk egg race to the save sea turtles

Jason Edwards / National Geographic/Getty Images once the turtles breed will know where you go? Biologists are unsure. Text size A A A July 3, 2010

As the oil spill Gulf Coast beaches are coats, rescuers hatch plan a daring to save as many as 70,000 sea turtle eggs from the disaster.

Every year, scramble thousands of newly hatched turtles from their nests in the Florida Panhandle's sandy beaches and Alabama coasts in the water.Fouled with these waters by oil and chemical dispersants a whole generation of sea turtles could be damaged or even destroyed.

Hundreds of turtles and birds have already died in the oil spill, but the United States fish and Wildlife Service schedule determines the this year's young under the victims sein.Agentur spokesman Chuck Underwood, biologists, all tells NPR's Scott Simon the nests from the Gulf Coast in Florida's East Coast to move.

"You are allowed to complete your incubation, and hopefully the turtles will be,"says Underwood.Dann"we can collect and let to the ocean."

In a few weeks he says, that will rescue team ditch estimated 700 to 800 nests, insert into foam container and overland supply to Florida's far side.

Make any car seats for baby turtles, but it turns out some companies specialize in transporting wildlife - like FedEx, providing the eggs. Another big name offers luxurious accommodation for the eggs when you reach your goal: Kennedy Space Center.

"The Space Center is provided the opportunity for us to use their large, air-conditioned camp" Underwood says. It has even a wildlife contractor staff.

"" We have a lot of parties that do not normally necessarily would agree all to something,"Underwood says.""But this is the general consensus is at least an opportunity to try to do something in a situation that was less than ideal for wildlife."

But to play with nature has its risks."There are some things, which simply do not know the Saviour."Once we it received, and they are created, there are a lot of questions: are you going to be released on the beach and in the surf?And go into the sea to go as you would normally do? or be circles to do?"We know not only honest."

Although the small guys make it to the water, we don't know if they are OK for 35 years.

"" This is a very slow maturing types,"Underwood says.""Thirty-five years from now, you reach sexual maturity at and start to come back to the beaches."Only then we can find out whether the rescued turtles back to the Gulf or not ging.Oder if you even survived.

"" This is one of the reasons we this as one extraordinary efforts, "says Underwood.""There are tons and tons of potential risk."

"The plan is not ideal.""This is the least offensive solution of a few bad solutions. we know with some certainty that if we do something, this young entstehen.Sie will leave to go into the Gulf and your opportunities in the Gulf are almost Null.So this is an attempt to do what we can we have tried to manage the risk to minimize these risks as far as possible, but we expect that we will cause in fact some additional losses."

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