Green sea turtle hatchlings head out to sea after being released from a U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue boat 20 miles off shore. (Julie Dayringer, FLORIDA TODAY)
(FLORIDA TODAY) -- This military rescue mission had a bit of a soft underbelly.
Most baby green sea turtles have long since shed their eggshells and ventured out to sea by now. But when these tiny endangered turtles took more than 50 days longer than usual to incubate, they needed a little boost from the military.
The Air Force and the Coast Guard recently teamed up to rescue 29 of the green sea turtle hatchlings at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and give them a lift to the open ocean.
They dug up this batch of late bloomers after seeing signs of hatching, including tiny turtle tracks left behind. But also left behind were baby turtles hanging halfway from their eggs. So officials permitted to handle them helped crack the turtles from their shells, then the Coast Guard cruised them 20 miles off shore.
There, they placed the turtles - flippers flailing - one at a time into the lukewarm water.
Hatchlings must quickly reach offshore seaweed lines along the Gulf Stream to feed. But since these hatched so late, the water close to shore is too cold. Releasing them near shore could have resulted in the turtles washing back in because colder water weakens their swimming ability.
They had no trouble swimming when released from the deck of a U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue boat.
"They all took off," said Don George, a biologist with the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron Asset Management Flight at the station. "They knew what to do as soon as she dropped them in the water, they were off and running."
Just before the release, Coast Guard Chief Boatswain's Mate Nick Ingersoll used an air horn to spook off a flock of seabirds from a nearby buoy, to keep the turtles from becoming easy lunch.
Sea turtle nesting season usually runs May to October. Some studies have suggested that sea turtles may be nesting later in the year due to climate change, leaving hatchlings to emerge later as well.
"As much as people would think they know about sea turtles there's still scratching their heads on that one," George said. "A nest hatching out in January, that's amazing, it's almost unheard of."
Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com