NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY

Last Public Release of Endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Hatchlings at Padre Island National Seashore during this Record-breaking Year

Who:  National Park Service staff and volunteers will release hatchling Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. Media, project partners, and the public are invited to attend.  No fee is charged to attend.

Where: Padre Island National Seashore, in front of the Malaquite Beach Visitor Center. 

When:  Friday, August 1, 2008.  Meet on the deck of the Visitor Center starting at 6:30 am for a brief program and to be led to the release site.

Why:  For three decades, an international, multi-agency restoration project has been underway to re-establish a nesting colony of endangered Kemp’s ridley at Padre Island National Seashore.  During 2008, a record 194 Kemp’s ridley nests were found on Texas beaches, including 102 nests on North Padre Island.   This is the largest yearly tally of Kemp’s ridley nests confirmed in Texas and on North Padre Island, and is the first year that more than 10,000 hatchlings have been released at a site on the Texas coast since record-keeping began three decades ago. 

What:  This week the National Park Service will hold this year’s last public release of Kemp’s ridley sea turtle hatchlings at Padre Island National Seashore.  On Friday August 1, up to 200 hatchlings produced from eggs found from June 11-15 will be released.  All hatchlings from this grouping may be ready for release on August 1, but if not there may be a sufficient number remaining to enable one more release that is open to the public on the morning of Saturday August 2.  Final determination about a release on August 2 will occur during the afternoon of August 1 and will be announced on the Hatchling Hotline (tel. 361-949-7163).

Sixteen other public releases were held at Padre Island National Seashore this year, starting in mid-June, and over 3,000 people attended, with many traveling here from elsewhere in the state and U.S. specifically to attend.  The August 1 release will celebrate this year’s record-breaking results.  It will also acknowledge partnerships that have been vital to the success of this program, including the National Park Service Centennial Initiative.  Under this initiative this year, $100,000 was provided in federal funds to match partner contributions of $122,980 from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation/Shell Marine Habitat Program, Unilever, and Friends of Padre, Inc.    

For More Information: Media should contact Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D., Chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, Padre Island National Seashore, telephone (361)949-8173, ext. 226, e-mail e-mail us.

The public should contact the recorded Hatchling Hotline at (361)949-7163.

More information on the recovery project can be obtained at the Padre Island National Seashore website: <http://www.nps.gov/pais/>.

News Alert: Leatherback Turtle Nest Found

This morning (June 6, 2008) an update was sent that a green turtle nest was located at Padre Island National Seashore today. This was based on the report from the turtle patroller, who found the wide tracks and a few eggs at the surface (so we knew that we had a nest).  Upon further investigation, the identification has been changed from green turtle to leatherback turtle. Padre Island National Seashore Biologist Cynthia Rubio, who has seen leatherback nests in Mexico, confirmed that it is a leatherback nest. The tracks measured 203 cm wide and the egg diameter was 5.7 cm, both much larger than recorded for green turtles. This is the first leatherback nest recorded on the Texas coast since the 1930's. The only other leatherback nests that have been recorded on the Texas coast were from the 1920's and 1930's at what was later designated as Padre Island National Seashore. The historic leatherback nests were from the Little and Big Shell area of the National Seashore and this nest was located in that vicinity.  Follow this link to read the New York Times article on the Leatherback turtle nest found on Padre Island National Seashore

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If you are with a news or media organization and would like information about the park or any of the current issues facing the park, please contact the Public Affairs office: (361) 949-8173 extension 229 or follow the links on the home page of this website.