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EDMONTON SUN (Alberta) 09 January 05 Rare turtles swept away, may face extinction
Phuket, Thailand (AP): Endangered sea turtles were also casualties of the tsunami, with the monster waves possibly hastening their extinction, a marine expert said yesterday. At least 24 turtles swept up by the waves have been found on the shores of Phuket island, some dead, others with cuts, scrapes and broken shells.
But the titanic wave also swept away about two dozen endangered olive ridley turtles, which had been part of a breeding program and whose numbers had been increasing.
"In the worse-case scenario, the effect of the tsunami could make some species of sea turtles extinct," said Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, a marine biologist at Phuket Marine Biological Centre.
When the wall of water swept ashore, the immediate focus was on saving human lives, and marine centre workers pitched in.
Now they are finding that the damage to the sea turtle was severe, perhaps irreparable. Since sea turtles move slowly, breathe through their lungs and need to surface regularly for oxygen, they were particularly susceptible to the tsunami.
Some 20 out of 30 breeding olive ridley turtles that were raised in a cement pool near the sea were swept away. Their fate is unknown. It is unclear if they can survive in the sea.
The green, hawksbill, olive ridley and leatherback turtles, which are found in tropical waters, live almost six metres from shore, making them vulnerable to waves that dumped dolphins and other sea creatures about a kilometre inland. Trade in sea turtles is banned under a global agreement.
Rare turtles swept away, may face extinction

LONDON FREE PRESS (Ontario) 09 January 05 Sea turtles dealt mighty blow
Phuket, Thailand (AP): Endangered sea turtles were among the casualties of the Asian tsunami, with the monster waves possibly hastening their extinction, a marine expert said yesterday. At least 24 turtles swept up by the waves have been found on the shores of Phuket island, some dead, others with cuts, scrapes and broken shells.
But the titanic wave also swept away about two dozen endangered olive ridley turtles, which had been part of a breeding program and whose numbers were increasing.
"In the worse-case scenario, the effect of the tsunami could make some species of sea turtles extinct," said Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, a marine biologist at Phuket Marine Biological Centre.
When the wall of water swept ashore, the focus was on saving human lives, and marine centre workers pitched in.
Now they are finding the damage to the sea turtle was severe, perhaps irreparable. Because sea turtles move slowly, breathe through their lungs and need to surface regularly for oxygen, they were particularly susceptible to the tsunami.
About 20 of 30 breeding olive ridley turtles raised in a cement pool near the sea were swept away. Their fate is unknown. It is unclear whether they can survive in the sea.
The green, hawksbill, olive ridley and leatherback turtles, found in tropical waters, live almost six metres from shore, making them vulnerable to waves that dumped dolphins and other sea creatures about a kilometre inland.
The olive ridley and leatherback are listed as threatened or endangered.
In the tsunami-affected region, the olive ridley breed only on the Andaman Sea coast and nearly became extinct in Thailand because their eggs were smuggled for food. There are fewer than than 200 of them today, compared to 5,000 nests 50 years ago.
The breeding program had allowed the olive ridley, with its broad, heart-shaped shell, to start a comeback, but it has been dealt a serious blow.
"The environment has changed, with debris and garbage strewn on the seashore and sediment in the sea," Kongkiat said. "These are not good conditions for turtles to lay eggs."
The olive ridley is found in the tropical waters of the northern Indian Ocean, the eastern Pacific and in the eastern Atlantic along the coast of Africa. In the western Atlantic, most nesting occurs along a short stretch of beach in Surinam.
Sea turtles dealt mighty blow