Nederlandse Kemps zeeschildpadden in het nieuws

Dutch Kemp’s ridleys in the headlines After a rehabilitation period of three years, the Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) that was stranded on November 21, 2008 in Westenschouwen, province of Zeeland, the Netherlands (Goverse et al., 2009b), was finally released in the Golf of Mexico. After its recovery it was, together with a stranded loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), sentto Zoomarine Portugal for further release (Goverse et al., 2009a). Due to the big BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (2010), the release schedule was considerably delayed. Finally, the Kemp’s ridley arrived in Florida on November 29, 2011. After a short quarantine period at Mote Marine Laboratory the turtle was released on December 27, 2011. The turtle was equipped with a satellite transmitter and its daily progress can be followed at www.seaturtle.org/tracking. December 10, 2011 another young Kemp’s ridley stranded at Monster, province of Zuid-Holland. This is the fifth known stranding in the Netherlands. Previous strandings were observed in 1954, 1970, 2007 and 2008 (Brongersma, 1972; Hoogmoed, 2009; Goverse et al., 2009b). Theyoung sea turtle was brought to Sea Life, Scheveningen, for medical care. The carapace length was 35 cm and its weight 1.85 kg. The turtle did not have any serious injuries. The turtle will stay at Sea Life until it can be rehabilitated into the Gulf of Mexico. The turtle can be followed by webcam on www. westonline.nl/flip-cam.