
DATE: Saturday, September 6, 1997           TAG: 9709060406

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: PAUL CLANCY 

DATELINE: STAFF WRITER VIRGINIA BEACH       LENGTH:   68 lines

BABY TURTLES, PROTECTED AS EGGS, STRIKE OUT ALONE INTO THE OCEAN VOLUNTEERS HOPE TINY LOGGERHEADS WILL BEAT THE ODDS.

As the sun set and a crescent moon rose Friday night, dozens of just-hatched turtles felt the call of the ocean and began a perilous journey.

The baby loggerhead turtles, deposited in the sand two months ago on the beach at Little Island Park, were released at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Refuge employees handed the turtles, about the size of a child's hand, to volunteers, many of them children, who in turn released the tiny creatures.

As the light faded, the turtles inched their way across the sand, some turning the wrong way at first, some tumbling over as gentle waves greeted them. But they seemed energized by the water and began to swim furiously.

The turtle release is part of an effort by the refuge to give the endangered loggerheads a better chance of survival than they normally would have. This was one of six nests in the area this summer.

Because sea turtle eggs are often bothered by beachgoers and predators such as foxes and raccoons, they are placed in predator-proof cages during incubation. To maximize their survival - and avoid gulls that normally pick them off - the turtles were released at night.

``At this age all they are is basically tasty little morsels to anything that flies or swims or walks,'' said refuge wildlife biologist Florence James.

But in this case, they were bathed in lights from TV crews and camera flashes.

Twelve children stood at a starting line drawn in the sand and held their hands out as though receiving communion. As they placed the babies on the sand, many yelled encouragement. ``Go, Nike, go,'' urged Michael Moyer, 11, from Chesapeake, calling his turtle by its new name.

``Come on, keep going,'' another child sang out.

There were 112 hatchlings released Friday night. Most of them are males, because colder temperatures dictate the male gender of baby sea turtles. Virginia Beach is the northernmost nesting ground for loggerheads.

The turtles swim out hundreds of miles to the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda, where they float and eat and grow for about 15 years before the females head back to the same area where they were born.

A few of this clutch, if they are female, could be back as adults, weighing as much as 600 pounds. Most, however, don't survive the journey. But participants felt they were off to a good start.

Richard Mullen, an oceanographer with the Army Corps of Engineers, also was there to encourage the turtles. ``I feel like with this, when we get them all in the water, they're off to a real good start,'' he said.

``Bye, turtles!'' one child called as they swam into the waves.

``You can do it, Nike, you can do it,'' said Michael Moyer. ``It just gives me a good feeling inside when I can help a poor, defenseless little animal,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

GARY C. KNAPP

Volunteers and staff released 112 loggerhead hatchlings on the beach

Friday night at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Virginia

Beach is the northernmost nesting ground for the endangered sea

turtles.

Color Photo

GARY C. KNAPP

Because sea turtle eggs are often bothered by beachgoers and

predators, they are placed in predator-proof cages during

incubation. To avoid gulls that normally pick them off, the turtles

were released at night. KEYWORDS: LOGGERHEAD TURTLE