NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — A Coast Guard plane has touched down in the Oregon coastal town of Newport to pick up two rare sea turtles stranded last fall on separate Northwest beaches.
From Newport, the plane took off Thursday for San Diego, where the plan is for “Myrtle” and “Maude” to complete their rehabilitation at the SeaWorld turtle rehabilitation center and ideally be released back into the wild.
The C-130 based at the Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento combined the good deed with a training flight. Cmdr. Todd Lightle says the mission gave the pilots practice getting in and out of a small airport and handling a unique loading exercise. It provided the Olive Ridley sea turtle and the Pacific Green sea turtle with a flight temperature in the mid 70s and cabin pressure that was kept at sea level.
The Olive Ridley (“Myrtle”) was found on Newport’s Agate Beach and the Green (“Maude”) on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. Both were hypothermic and dehydrated; the green sea turtle also had a fractured right front flipper. They’ve been cared for by the staff at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
