It was snowing today in Massachusetts! This caught me by surprise. It’s hard to believe that I was on 
the beach in Florida three weeks ago! This was the first snow of the season in the area. After I scraped off my car, I headed down to the NMLC. When I arrived, I learned some really great news. Harpoon was scheduled for release! I was really happy to hear this. She will be flown down to Florida on Wednesday. After a short stay at the Living Seas in Epcot to recuperate from the journey, she will be released. Harpoon needs to be released down south because the water is too cold this time of year in Cape Cod for her to survive.
All of the rescued cold-stunned turtles, including Harpoon, are juveniles. Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles lay their eggs almost exclusively on one beach in Mexico, Ranch Nuevo. When they are fully mature, they usually
never leave the Gulf of Mexico area. However, many young Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles follow food sources and end up riding the Gulf Stream all the way up to New England. If they can't find their way south, and the water gets too cold, they end up stranding.
After the meeting, Brian let me do the water quality testing on the turtle tanks. I like this kind of work. I find it really interesting. In addition to the in-house testing, a sample is also brought to a lab once a week for coliform bacteria testing. Today, Joanne and I collected this sample and brought it to the lab. I was amazed at how much hard work and attention goes into the turtle’s water quality.
Posted by Christy Buckley on Dec 5, 2006
