Sea Turtles Making The News
Ila's Namesake Ila, a female Kemp's ridley, is a member of the 1992 year class headstarted at the Galveston National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Turtle Facility. On May 1, 2008, she returned to the beach of her birth at which time she was examined after she laid a nest of 109 eggs. That same day, with funding from the Texas General Land Office's Coastal Management Program, Ila was the first turtle to be outfitted with a Sirtrack KiwiSat 101 satellite transmitter by the Texas A&M University at Galveston, Texas as part of a study to learn more about Kemp's ridley movements in the wild. |
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At 5:20 p.m. on May 1, 2008, Ila was released at her nesting site and, with the transmitter she now wore, researchers were able to monitor and track her movements so as to better understand where Kemp's ridleys go after they have nested. |
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 Data used with permission of Texas A&M University at Galveston |
By May 20th, satellite tracking showed that Ila had swum southwest, along Galveston Island, continuing southward down the Texas coast and then to Matagorda Island, a total of about 125 miles from her release site. Unfortunately, Ila's satellite tag stopped sending signals after just 26 days and her current whereabouts are now unknown. Because a satellite transmitter, especially one immersed in water, can cease working because of a damaged antennae or what is called biofouling of the saltwater switches, it is hoped that Ila was not the victim of an accident or attack but is still swimming somewhere in the great ocean since the last transmissions received from her appeared to be normal. |
Sea Turtles in Southern California On September 2, 2008, the Long Beach Press-Telegram of Southern California reported that a group of green sea turtles were found in the San Gabriel River, far distant from their known habitats of Mexico and Central America. According to Perry Hampton, the director of animal husbandry at the Aquarium of the Pacific, "it's very rare to see a colony this far north." However, Dan Lawson, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, says that the number of sightings seems to have grown in recent years. In order to learn more about them, scientists plan to tag the turtles later in 2008 so as to track their migration patterns. In the meantime, it's important for the public to recognize that there is an endangered species of sea turtle in Southern California waters. |
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