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Friday, August 6, 2004 Patrol cheers turtle eggs hatchingBy MICHAEL REED | News-Journal Staff Writer FLAGLER BEACH — A Turtle Patrol volunteer carefully dug into the sand at sunrise Thursday to uncover a nest, hoping to see signs of life. This was the moment – a clutch of leatherback turtles that wasn’t expected to survive. Volunteers had reburied 65 eggs after poachers dug them up on July 18. There were no tracks leading to the water to indicate the hatchlings had emerged. But Lori Ottlein kept sifting through the sand, and the huddled group of onlookers giggled and cheered quietly as she removed six eggshells. “This is a miracle,” Ottlein said. During the night, six baby turtles had emerged from the sand. More than two weeks ago poachers bunched the eggs in a plastic grocery bag and tossed it under a dune walkover at 16th Street. The poachers took the eggs from a nearby nest, where 12 eggshells were found Thursday. The 18 hatchlings combined from the nests were more than the volunteers had hoped for. “It brought tears to my eyes,” said Ramona Rutkowski. Volunteers covered the remaining 80 eggs with sand. Rutkowski said she thought 20 more hatchlings could emerge. “We’re not done,” Rutkowski said. They’ll know in a few days. Meanwhile, Jesus Morales Ramirez, 19, Ramiro Rodriguez, 28, and Fransico Ramirez, 33, are still in the Flagler County Inmate Facility. The Flagler Beach Police Department charged them with possession of more than 11 turtle eggs and illegally disturbing, molesting or destroying a nest, which are third-degree felonies. The men could face up to $1.6 million in federal fines. But U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Chuck Underwood said it’s too soon to say if any additional charges will be filed. Joy Hill with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the state wasn’t planning to file additional charges. The men were caught after Flagler Beach resident Jack Plimpton – on a morning walk with his dog Mopsy – noticed them acting strangely. He called police, and an officer found two plastic bags filled with a total of 65 eggs. The men said they wanted to eat the eggs, according to Flagler Beach police. Dean Gallagher, an environmental specialist with Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Program, said news of the sea turtles’ survival was encouraging but not unheard of. Research shows that any movement of eggs in a nest after the embryos attach to their shells, which happens within 72 hours, can reduce the number of hatchlings by 30 percent, he said. That’s why the state discourages relocating nests unless it’s necessary. “The mother turtle knows what she is doing when she puts them in the ground,” he said. In the Flagler Beach case, the original nest had been relocated once because it was in danger of washing away, Ottlein said. The poachers dug up the eggs after they were moved. The state likes to see 80 percent to 90 percent of the turtles in a nest emerge, Gallagher said. An average nest yields 100 eggs. But only one in 1,000 hatchlings returns to lay eggs after it reaches sexual maturity, which is 15 to 20 years, he said. “There’s just so many obstacles those hatchlings have to overcome in their lifetime,” Gallagher said. For that reason, the Turtle Patrol volunteers were glad to save as many turtles as they did. “We need every one that we can have,” Ottlein said. On the net: HICI Special Report — Sea Turtles Need Help: Can you Dig it? |
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