May 6, 2006 A Turtle named Kahla laid 119 eggs on Bermuda Beach. An ultra sound reviled that she had more eggs developing and would posibly return in a couple of seeks to lay another clutch of eggs. The eggs were collected and have been sent to the South Padre Hatchery.

Kahla is a Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle. Ridley's are the most endangered of all the sea turtle species and are the only turtles that lay eggs during daylight hours. All other turtles nest at night.

What to do if you see a turtle nesting, uncover a nest of eggs or find a dead or injured turtle

1. Be aware of possible nests while digging or playing on the beach.

2. If you find a turtle nesting try to have someone watch the turtle while someone else telephones the authorties. If you do not have the numbers available to you just call the police. 1-409-771-2872 or 1-866-turtle 5 (1-866-887-8535).

3. Protect the nest and turtle from other people interferring with her. Do not handle the eggs. Let her continue to lay eggs and even cover them. Just carefully note where the nest is so that you can point it out to authorities when they arrive.

4. Stay with the turtle and protect her until TAMUG or NOAA personel arrive.

5. Try to note the tag number and try to notice if there is a white spot on the top of the shell and where it is located. The carapace is made up of sections called scoots. Try to note which scoot has the white mark. The white mark is called a living tag. It was grafted onto the shell while being raised to a releasable size. Different scoots were used each year of the head start program. So knowing where the living tag is on the carapace will tell us the turtles age.

Kahla will be on the NOAA web site by next week. http://www.noaa.gov/turtles.html

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