Nasa turtle egg rescue success

2010-09-09 09:45

Cape Canaveral - The turtle rescue effort at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre is winding down.

Nearly 300 sea turtle nests were trucked to the space centre from the Gulf Coast in July and August. Wildlife officials organised the relocation because of fears the oil spill might endanger the hatchlings.

The shipment of nests ended last month after the Gulf of Mexico was deemed safe for the sea turtle hatchlings.

Biologist Jane Provancha said on Wednesday that she expects to release the final batch of hatchlings into the Atlantic near Cape Canaveral this week.

Provancha says at least 15 000 hatchlings have been released from the more than 28 000 eggs that were transported to Kennedy. That's a 50%-plus success rate, slightly better than in the wild.

- SAPA