Meg Brager shares: This past weekend my sister and niece were hiking at the Welwyn nature preserve on Long Island, NY, and came across a young sea turtle which they at first thought was dead.
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| Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) |
They called a local vet who told them to try and bring it in. Once it warmed up a bit it started moving, and the vet contacted the Riverhead Turtle Rescue Foundation. Turns out it is a Kemps Ridley sea turtle, and quite rare. It had probably gotten off course swimming back to Mexico for the winter and became trapped on the beach, possibly as a result of the hurricane. It most likely would have died of exposure on the beach that night if they had not found it.
This breed was added to the endangered list in 1970 and is making a slow comeback but is still in a very precarious position. Luckily for this youngster it was found by people who cared enough to carry it a mile back to their car and bring it to someone who could help. Good on ya’ sis!
Read about these endangered turtles :
VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS CARE ABOUT ALL CREATURES on land, air and sea...LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM HERE.
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