Natural History Wanderings

NPR reported on the adventures of a juvenile Kemp’s Ridley turtle, whose nickname is Johnny Vasco da Gama, after the 15th-century Portuguese explorer.  Although his species very rarely come across the Atlantic, in 2008 he came ashore in Europe. There are only a few thousand of these turtles and their normal habitat is primarily the Gulf of Mexico.  It is believed that he floated across on Sargassum brown seaweed, which provides shelter and food for the turtles. He was nursed back to health in the Netherlands and Portugal and has been flown Florida. Today he will be released back into the Gulf of Mexico with a radio transmitter attached. There are records of four other Kemp’s Ridley Turtles crossing the Atlantic but none are known to have returned, especially by plane.  Read more at NPR  Endangered Turtle Survives Trans-Atlantic Journey