Gulf Restoration Network

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle vs BP Blog - BPs Oil Drilling Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, 17 May 2010 16:22

Where in the world is Will (YYN995)?

Will is an adult male Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle. He washed ashore near Port Aransas, Texas on April 19, 2009. He was nursed back to health by Tony Amos and the good folks at the Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK), on the campus of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

He began his career as a scientific researcher on July 23, 2009 when he was tagged and released on a beach near Port Aransas by the Sea Turtle & Fisheries Ecology Research Lab of Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Will roamed along the central Texas coast for nearly eight months, feeding on blue crabs. Last September he began his swim up the coast and crossed into Louisiana coastal waters April 27, 2010.

Swimming east, he is now directly in the path BP’s oil gusher. Has he already surfaced in an oil slick that fouled his eyes or burned his lungs? How have the dispersants and oil affected the blue crabs on which he feeds?

For more information go to http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=83241&full=1