Tag: burning turtles

Froomkin: Plight of the Sea Turtle

Go read:  (warning, also has picture slideshow, sad, graphic)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

Gulf Oil Spill: The Plight of the Sea Turtle  by Dan Froomkin at HuffPo 7/2/2010


In the case of the most endangered species, the Kemp’s ridley turtle, hatchlings leaving their nests in Mexico this season are swimming right into the heart of the spill area, where their instinct to seek shelter and prey among floating vegetation is betraying them by leading them straight to thick clots of oil and oil-soaked seaweed.

There, instead of finding security and food, they are getting poisoned, trapped and asphyxiated.

And if that weren’t tragic enough, it turns out that shrimp boats hired by BP to corral floating oil with booms and set it on fire have been burning hundreds if not thousands of the young turtles alive.

BP oil spill,turtle,ridley's sea turtle,oiled turtle,turtle gets bath,UC Davis

Help.  photo NOAA , of oiled Ridley’s Sea Turtle