Baby turtles come home for Christmas
Five baby hawksbill turtles hatched in Germany after the eggs were taken illegally from Seychelles have returned home.
The turtles arrived on the Condor airline’s flight from Frankfurt on Saturday morning after an adventure that captured the imaginations of the German public.
The eggs were taken from Seychelles earlier this year by a tourist transiting through Germany. Vigilant customs officers at Frankfurt airport intercepted the “egg-napper” as he tried to smuggle them into the country.
They were then handed over to the Federal Agency of Natural Conservation and later hatched at Frankfurt Zoo, where they were cared for.
The German media were fascinated by a twist to the story – an unusual case of one species helping another.
On March 22, a dog specially trained to sniff out endangered species at Frankfurt’s international airport – a major gateway into the European Union – led customs officials to the precious contraband: five fertilised turtle eggs hidden in the luggage of the passenger flying in from Seychelles.
As signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, German authorities were obliged to confiscate the eggs.
They were passed on to Frankfurt Zoo, which has a famous “exotarium” for reptiles, fish and other exotic species and is experienced in hatching out animals in captivity.
Although the eggs appeared dry, and it seemed unlikely at the time that all the turtles could be saved, all five hatched out between March 26 and 28 – less than a week after their arrival in Germany.
To the scientists at the zoo, who identified the hatchlings as hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), a critically endangered species, this success was a sensation.
As the animals are now about 40cm long and in good health, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation decided to repatriate them before the end of the year. The Seychelles authorities were notified and pledged their full cooperation in the effort.
On Wednesday last week, the turtles were introduced to the German media at Frankfurt Zoo and the story received nationwide coverage in the press and on major TV networks including ZDF and RTL.
Zoo director Professor Manfred Niekisch, Franz Böhmer and Dirk Hausen of the nature conservation agency, and Johannes Winter of the Condor airline represented the co-hosts at the event, which was also attended by Edith Hunzinger, manager of the Seychelles Tourist Office in Germany, and Max Hunzinger, honorary consul in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt’s local TV station, Hessischer Rundfunk, sent a TV team to accompany the turtles on their flight home and to report on their release into their natural environment.
Condor offered to fly the turtles free of charge, and they were accompanied on the flight by Mr Hausen, who took care of formalities on arrival and will supervise their release in close cooperation with his local counterparts.
The young turtles were met at the airport by Ronley Fanchette from the Department of Environment and Alain St Ange, director of tourism marketing at the Seychelles Tourism Board. They were then released into the sea at Anse Royale.
Source: NATION 12-21-09