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Marine Turtle Newsletter 122:20-24, © 2008

Marine Turtle Newsletter-Online

NEWS AND LEGAL BRIEFS


This section is compiled by seaturtle.org. You can submit news items at any time online at <https://seaturtle.org/news/>, via e-mail to news@seaturtle.org, or by regular mail to the Editors. Many of these news items and more can be found at <https://seaturtle.org/news/>, where you can also sign up for news updates by E-mail. Note that News Items are taken directly from various media sources and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the editorial members of the MTN.

AMERICAS

Record Year for Sea Turtle Nests

Rare loggerhead sea turtles are having a record nesting season on the Georgia coast and have been laying eggs in promising numbers on southern Atlantic beaches from Florida to the Carolinas. Still, biologists warn the population of mammoth turtles, which weigh up to 300 pounds, remains fragile. And the federal government is considering a proposal to classify loggerheads as endangered after 30 years of listing them as a threatened species. Along the 100-mile Georgia coast, biologists and volunteers working with the state Department of Natural Resources have counted 1,544 loggerhead nests since the nesting season began May 1. That’s the most turtle nests recorded since Georgia began keeping count in 1989, breaking the previous record of 1,504 nests in 2003. And new nests discovered since August 1, the final month of the season, haven’t been tallied yet. Mark Dodd, the biologist in charge of the Georgia sea turtle recovery program, said Wednesday he suspects the state will top 1,600 nests by the end of the season. That’s still short of the state goal of 2,000 nests per year for 25 years. Researchers use nest counts as a barometer for the overall loggerhead population, as the turtles spend most of the year at sea. Each summer, turtle watchers comb the beaches from Florida to North Carolina to look for new nests, marking them and adding a wire-mesh cover to keep out predators. About 90 percent of loggerhead nests in the U.S. are found in Florida, which had its worst nesting season since 1989 last year. Florida biologists counted 28,074 nests in 2007, less than half the state’s peak of 59,918 in 1998. Beth Brost, who compiles sea turtle nesting data for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, said no numbers have been tallied so far this year. She said nesting appears to have increased on the 28 beaches Florida uses to compare year-to-year progress. In South Carolina, sea turtle program coordinator DuBose Griffin said she expects 4,000 to 4,500 loggerhead nests by the end of the month, which would be one of the state’s best nesting years since 1980. North Carolina sea turtle biologist Matthew Godfrey said nesting there has been above average, with nearly 800 nests counted so far. Dodd said a sharp decline in shrimp boats trawling off the Georgia coast, because of high fuel costs and low market prices, this year may have contributed to Georgia seeing so many nests. Boat collisions and fishing net entanglements are the top killers of loggerheads. Overall, the loggerhead sea turtle population remains so low that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service could declare loggerheads an endangered species in the U.S. next year. The species has been listed as threatened, a less-critical classification, since 1978. Sandy MacPherson, national sea turtle coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said a team of biologists must first determine if loggerheads nesting in the U.S. are genetically distinct enough to be considered separately from the worldwide population. If so, she said, the agencies could list them as endangered in early 2009. Source: International Herald Tribune, 14August, 2008

Some Question Effectiveness of Turtle Protection Law

Many people in Manatee County, Florida, are questioning the usefulness of a local law meant to protect sea turtles. Since 1998, Bradenton Beach has required residents and resorts to remove furniture after sunset as well as shield all lighting from the beach. However, year after year, residents say many businesses violate the rules. Some of them blame a lack of punishment for the problem. Dr. Tony Tucker, head of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, said these ordinances are important because removing lights from turtles’ sight is critical for their survival. “That can cause them to get trapped in the vegetation, fall in the pool, or spin around on their back until the next morning,” he said. Despite the awareness of the regulations, not everyone is in compliance, and violators are not being punished for it. Since May, there have been 13 light violations with no fines. Last week, a resort on the beach was cited for violating the city’s light statute for the second time. Code enforcement officers say in both instances, a group of hatchlings became disoriented. However, the second time, 15 of the hatchlings died. An investigation is underway to see if the lights caused their deaths. If investigators determine that they did, the owner of the condo could face a fine of up to $150,000. Code enforcement officers said they’ve never issued a fine larger than $1,000. However, the potential fine for the condo owner is so much larger because sea turtles are protected by law. Officers say violators only face a fine if they are repeat offenders or if a turtle is involved during a violation. They said that the matter then goes to a hearing, where the city’s special master decides on the amount of the fine. Source: Bay News 9, 6 September 2008.

Another Dead Turtle Surfaces

The reports of dead leatherback turtles in South Coast, Massachusetts, has continued to rise with one reported at Salters Point in Dartmouth on Sunday. Staff from Mass Audubon in Wellfleet Bay were notified but the turtle was so decomposed they will get almost no data by examining it. Three leatherback deaths have been reported on South Coast’s beaches so far this month. They include a 600-pound leatherback removed from Pico Beach in Mattapoisett on Sept. 9. A decomposed leatherback was still lying on the sand at East Beach in Westport on Saturday after being reported about a week earlier. The highway surveyor said he wasn’t aware of it and would make sure it was removed. There were 14 confirmed deaths of leatherbacks in Massachusetts waters this season and 14 reports of sightings of dead leatherbacks in coastal waters. The number of offshore sightings can’t be confirmed because boaters could be reporting the same turtle. The total number of sightings are probably the highest on record. Many of the dead sea turtles have been too decomposed by the time they reach shore for the New England Aquarium or Mass Audubon to determine the cause of death. There are often signs that the leatherback has been hit by a sea vessel, although it is impossible to tell if the vessel hit the turtle before or after it was dead. In July, a 500-pound female that was tagged from West Trinidad was found dead on Cuttyhunk Island. Dead leatherbacks were also found in July at Popponesset Beach in Mashpee and Ricketson’s Point in Dartmouth. Source: Standard Times, 17 September 2008.

Congress to Investigate Las Baulas Marine National Park

The Costa Rica Legislative Assembly’s Special Commission on the Environment approved a series of motions aimed at investigating anomalies supposedly taking place at Guanacate’s Las Baulas Marine National Park. The investigation would deal with alleged illegal constructions within the park’s restricted Land Maritime Zone (ZMT) — 125 meters of land from the tide line that according to law must be kept from human intervention. However, since 75 meters of this strip are in private hands, an expropriation order by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) was issued in December 2004 to comply with the Law for the Creation of the Las Baulas Marine National Park, No. 7542 of July 10, 1995). However, due to bureaucratic processes and divergent interpretations of the law, the government is yet to acquire such lands. The group investigating Las Baulas is currently working on three files: No. 16.417 and No.16.916, both related to “the single interpretation of article 1 of the Law for the Creation of the Las Baulas Marine National Park”; and No. 16.915, “Law for Protection of Leatherback Turtle Habitats in Costa Rica.” These are being studied in a sub-commission coordinated by legislator Maureen Ballestero of the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN), along with Patricia Romero and Jose Merino del Rio, of opposition blocs Citizen Action Party (PAC) and the Broad Front, respectively. These three legislators were expected to visit the park last weekend, but suspended the tour because they felt “their safety could be in jeopardy. However, two other congressmen, PLN’s Salvador Quiros and Jose Luis Vasquez, of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), visited the Santa Cruz canton national park in an independent tour, as citizens. One of the decisions taken by Congress is to ask the government’s Peace with Nature initiative, led by Pedro Leon, to provide the final report of the investigation this office conducted regarding Las Baulas. Several individuals have also been asked to testify before the Legislative Assembly, including Rotney Piedra Chacon, director of Las Baulas; Emel Rodriguez, director of the Tempisque Conservation Area, to which the park belongs; Ronald Vargas, director of the National Conservation Areas System; and MINAE Vice Minister Jorge Rodriguez. There’s also interest on the part of Congress to analyze scientific studies indicating that leatherbacks that have been subject to installation of radio tracers on their shells for research have not come back to lay eggs in Playa Grande — one of the world’s main nesting grounds for this endangered sea turtle species. Source: Guanacaste Journal, 12 August 2008.

Governor Concerned About Sea Turtles

Efforts to preserve the endangered sea turtles in the Cayman Islands have attracted the attention of H.E the Governor Stuart Jack who has volunteered his services to the cause. Governor Jack accompanied Department of Environment’s (DoE) Research Officer Joni Kirkconnell and a group of DoE interns on one of their weekly surveillance trips to beaches in search of turtle nests. The group fanned out along a Seven Mile Beach stretch with the Governor and Mrs Kirkconnell walking from Boggy Sand Road in West Bay to Heritage Club. Citing the need for unity in the effort to protect the globally endangered sea turtle, Governor Jack noted that turtles are an important part of Cayman’s biodiversity. He said that recent incidents where nesting turtles were slaughtered were a major concern, both to him and to the DoE. Mrs Kirkconnell explained that the DoE conducts beach surveillance during the nesting season (May to October), an exercise that identifies where turtles lay their eggs. “When nests are found we process, mark and monitor them to protect them from poachers and prevent damage from any recreational activity on the beach,” she said. Adult turtles breed in Cayman’s waters and nest on the beaches. After the breeding and nesting season is over they migrate to forage overseas. It is illegal to harm turtles or their eggs and doing so carries a maximum fine of $500,000 and one year imprisonment. DoE research puts the nesting turtle population in the Cayman Islands to around 30, down from the millions cited in historical accounts. Source: Cayman Net News , 9 September 2008.

Turtle Numbers on the Rise

In Barbados, the sea turtle population appears to be on the rebound. But all could be for nought, one outspoken environmentalist says, if development along the island’s coast lines continues unabated. During a recent marine clean-up of Carlisle Bay, St Michael, marine biologist Andre Miller was pleased to report that divers had come face to face with many of the friendly sea creatures. He explained the area near the Hilton Hotel was a big turtle nesting site, and the turtles usually swam into Carlisle Bay to forage. “What we don’t want to see,” Miller said, “is turtles eating this plastic – which is why we try to get it out, because if algae grows on the plastic, they (turtles) sometimes try to graze, [that is], get the algae off the plastic and swallow some of it as well.” Founding member and secretary/treasurer of the Barbados Marine Trust, James Blades, attributed the increase in the turtle population to their having been “strictly managed for the last 25 years”. However, he felt the population could be heading for trouble, due to development taking place along the South and West Coasts. “While we have been successful in managing them now, we have a new wave of development that is going to have significant impact on a globally endangered species.” The endangered hawkesbill and leatherback turtles have been protected by the Barbados Sea Turtle Project, which was started in 1987. Source: Weekend Nation News, 10 October 2008.

EUROPE

Tourism Facilities to be Built on Coastal Area in Turkey

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has given permission for the construction of 12 tourism facilities on a coastal area, called Taşdibi Sülüklü, in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, even though the area is a nesting spot for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle. The Demre district is one of 20 nesting areas of the loggerheads in Turkey, said members from the Turkey desk of the World Wildlife Fund, or WWF. According to a statement by the ministry, “Tourism firms’ application for preliminary authorization has been examined. The intended tourism investments in Demre can be carried out after assessment of the applications is completed.” According to plans, the 622,159-square-meter coastal area, the allotment of which has not been completed yet, will be home to seven four-story hotels or seven holiday villages with a bed capacity of 2,640 in total, as well as a convention center, two tourism complexes and two facilities for day-trippers. Süleyman Topçu, the district head of Demre, said he has not seen loggerhead turtles in Sülüklü so far. “Loggerheads had existed in Sülüklü in the past. I was born in Sülüklü and know the area well. I have never seen loggerheads there so far. I might have seen only one or two,” said Topçu. He noted the area attracts 4,000 tourists each year. “These tourists have to leave Sülüklü after they spend at most two hours for sightseeing simply because there are no hotels in the area for them to stay in. If there were hotels, then they would stay in them. This is the reason why we want tourism facilities to be constructed there,” he said. Because agricultural activity has declined in the area, a shift is needed towards tourism for economic betterment, he added. Source: Turkish Daily News, 13 August 2008.

Prince Charles Speaks on Plastic Threat to Marine Life

The Prince of Wales has spoken of his deep concern for the threat posed to marine wildlife by Britain’s “throwaway culture” that is dumping plastic bags and other litter at sea. In a speech to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the Prince pledged his support for the new marine reserves being set up by the Scottish and UK governments and moves to prevent over fishing. However he said litter continues to be a massive problem for ocean life. Rare creatures like the leatherback turtle, the albatross and countless seabirds are killed by ingesting plastic bags and the Prince was shown the remnants of plastic found in the stomach of a dead leatherback turtle. “It is an eyesore on the beaches, but at sea, largely out of sight and thus out of mind, the remnants of our throwaway society are causing incalculable suffering to turtles, whales and seabirds,” he said. The Prince praised the MSC for organising beach cleans and campaigning to reduce the amount of rubbish dumped in the sea.”Albatrosses, those magnificent and magical birds, are being found dead with their stomachs almost full to bursting with plastic litter of all kinds - and that is when they haven’t actually been drowned by long-line fishing hooks,” he continued. “Here, in Britain, our largest native breeding seabird, the gannet, is equally threatened - over 90 per cent of the nests at Grassholm Island contain plastic debris which entangles the feet, wings and sometimes the beak of the chicks. And our largest marine reptile, the magnificent leatherback turtle is particularly susceptible - their favourite food is jellyfish, which bears a striking similarity to a floating plastic bag - a bag that can block their gut and so they starve to death,” he said. “We simply cannot continue to treat the oceans in this way. How can we talk about sustainability and stewardship when we are allowing this to happen?” The Prince’s comments came as Sainsbury’s stores announced moves to limit the use of carrier bags. From next month, shoppers will no longer be able to help themselves to the store’s distinctive orange bags. Instead they will be kept under the counter and only given out on demand. Source: The Telegraph, 12 September 2008.

INDIAN OCEAN

Shrimpers are Killing Our Turtles


Shrimp fishing is responsible for more than half of all turtle deaths in Bahrain, a study has revealed. The study, conducted by the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research (BCSR), revealed that a sharp increase in dead marine turtles coincided with the beginning of the shrimping season, in mid July. The Dead Marine Turtle Monitoring Programme found 41 dead turtles during the last two weeks of July, indicating a mortality rate of 2.6 turtles/day. Two weeks of shrimping season accounted for 54% of the total number of dead marine turtles monitored during the first seven months of this year, said BCSR fisheries studies head and programme co-ordinator Dr Ebrahim Abdulqader. He said the sharp increase was evidence that shrimp trawl nets were responsible for most marine turtle deaths in Bahrain’s waters. He called upon the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife and other authorities to implement legal and technical measures to minimise the impact of shrimp trawling on marine turtles. He also called for an awareness campaign, particularly among fishermen, on the proper handling of live marine turtles trapped in their nets. “We must improve the function of shrimp trawls and have turtle-excluding devices in trawl nets to allow them an exit to escape,” Dr Abdulqader told the GDN. “If people are reluctant to introduce modifications, then there should be restrictions in certain areas at certain times.” Dr Abdulqader said another study was required to find out where and when turtles were most vulnerable. He also called for funds to support programmes aimed at minimising the impact of the shrimp trawl nets on marine turtles and monitoring the incidences of marine turtles in shrimp trawls. Source: Gulf Daily News, 18 August 2008.

Tata Group Hits Out at Greenpeace Protests

Mumbai, India. Tata Steel has condemned protests carried out by Greenpeace activists demanding a halt to the construction of Tata’s Dhamra port in Orissa which the environmental group says threatens the Olive Ridley sea turtles, an endangered species. The activists blockaded Bombay House, the Tata Group’s headquarters, on Wednesday calling on the company to demonstrate corporate environmental responsibility. But Tata Steel, in a release, stated that it was a “clear indication of an organisation which is trying to gain publicity for itself through agitations instead of addressing the issues they have across the table”. Tata Steel says it is aware of certain concerns being voiced about the future welfare of turtles in the Bay of Bengal as a consequence of the development of a port in Dhamra, off the coast of Orissa. The company sought to draw attention to various studies since 1994 on the nesting habits of the Olive Ridley turtles along the Orissa coast, including the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. The studies clearly established that the port limits of the upcoming Dharma port are clearly outside the turtle nesting area as well as the Bhitarkanika Park, the release stated, adding that the National Environmental Appellate Authority had visited the site and found nothing objectionable. The release said Dhamra Port Company Limited is working in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an organisation which brings together countries, organisations, experts and scientists, to explore all possible ways to avoid any harm to wildlife in the area. Various steps are being taken to ensure adequate safeguards are deployed in accordance with the IUCN’s advice, the release said. “Tata Steel has had discussions with Greenpeace on Dhamra Port and the issue of turtles. All issues stand clarified,” the company said, adding it was ready to engage in further discussions. Greenpeace has been campaigning for several years against the port and says it would endanger the Olive Ridley sea turtle whose nesting grounds at Gahirmatha are threatened by the deep water port, barely 15km away. If constructed, the port will disturb the fragile ecological balance, thereby pushing this species one step closer to extinction, Greenpeace contends. Source: Gulfnews.com, 21 August 2008.
ASIA

Release of 100-kg Turtle Marks Start of Nesting Season


Zambales residents in the Philippines marked the start of the annual turtle nesting season in the province by releasing a 100 kg female green turtle to the South China Sea on Aug. 26. The turtle joined more than 17,500 hatchlings that had been freed to the sea since 2002, under the Zambales Turtle Conservation Program (ZTCP), said Bruce Oliver, chair of the Environmental Protection of Asia Foundation Inc. (Epafi), in a telephone interview. The ZTCP is implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Epafi and the Zambales government. It maintains three hatcheries near the Punta de Uian Resort in San Antonio, Rama Resort in Botolan and Palmera Gardens in Iba. The hatcheries are run by ZCP volunteers and resort workers, Oliver said. He said a resident in Barangay Pundaquit in San Antonio, found the green turtle at 1 a.m. near her house. It was released 10 hours later by residents and village officials led by barangay captain Erwin Saderna. Coming at the onset of the nesting season that lasts from August to March, Oliver said the release of the green turtle signified the commitment of the villagers to conserve the eggs rather than sell or consume these for their supposed aphrodisiac value. Based on the monitoring of the ZTCP, three species of marine turtles nest on the coast of Zambales. These are the olive ridley, green turtle, and hawksbill turtle. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3 September 2008.

Group Dismayed Over Rampant Catch of Turtles

Officials of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)- Philippines has expressed dismay “to find the animals we work so hard to conserve slaughtered on a wholesale basis” by foreigners encroaching the country’s territorial waters. WWF-Philippines Project Manager Rene Jay dela Calzada said Thursday that “again and again, foreign national have encroached upon Philippine waters to plunder our nation’s dwindling marine resources” citing the recent arrest of Vietnamese fishermen off northern Palawan. The Philippine Navy’s Joint Task Force Malapaya (JTFM) arrested 13 Vietnamese fishermen while fishing illegally around 6:30 p.m. of August 29, some five nautical miles east of Cabulawan Island, Linapacan town, Palawan. The JTFM personnel found 101 dead hawksbill turtles in the vessel’s cargo hold. It is one of the largest illegal wildlife hauls of the year. Distinguished from other sea turtles by a hooked beak and heavily-serrated carapace, the hawksbill has for millennia been hunted for food and tortoiseshell--a material used as far back as the ancient Greek and Roman eras to fashion jewelry, combs, and brushes. Calzada said hawksbill turtles are now classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered--the highest risk rating for a living animal save for being completely extinct in the wild. He said it is illegal to capture and kill sea turtles and to trade in turtle by-products under Philippines and international laws. The WWF officials noted that in the last decade there were over a thousand foreigners have been arrested and charged for poaching in the waters off Palawan alone. Over 660 poachers were Chinese. However, only one case -- the January 2004 arrest of 17 Chinese poachers caught with 54 dead sea turtles -- has ever led to a conviction, but they were even pardoned after paying a light fine. Source: The Sun Star News, 5 September 2008.

Ecologists Facing Poachers in Saving Sumatran Turtles

In Bangka Belitung (Babel), a new province in Sumatra, sea turtle hunting has been increasing over the past few years. Dozens of Leatherback sea turtles are hunted and killed each month to be used as ingredients for production of traditional medicines and as raw materials for leather good accessories, the head of Babel’s Agriculture and Forestry Service said. As a result of rampant hunting, the population of leatherback turtles, locally called ‘Penyu Belimbing’ (Dermochelys coriacea) in the province has fallen to only about 1,000. The five local turtle species facing a serious risk of extinction in Babel include ‘Penyu’ or Kemp’s ridleys and ‘Penyu Sisik’ or hawksbills, which according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) are at the greatest risk of becoming extinct. The others are ‘Penyu Hijau’ or green turtles, ‘Penyu Lekang’ or olive ridleys and ‘Penyu Tempayan’ or loggerhead turtles. Although turtle eggs are prone to natural predators, their main threat comes from human beings. Local people usually collect turtle eggs for consumption or for money. They sell them at Rp1,200 (about 13 cents) each, and it is easy to find turtle eggs in food stalls in Muko-Muko district. The West Sumatra regional administration is developing the coastal lines as a tourist resort to help promote the Visit Indonesia Year 2008. The head of the West Sumatra Tourism, Arts and Culture Office said during an expo in Singapore earlier this year: “We have places where tourists can see something more unique, namely the turtle breeding process. For such an experience, why should we go to Brazil? Let’s come to Pulau Penyu (Turtle Island) in West Sumatra.” Source: Antara News, 5 September 2008.

Marine Police Seize Smuggled Turtle Eggs

Marine police in Sabah, Malaysia, succeeded in seizing 3,000 turtle eggs worth about RM 8,400 (US$ 2,400)smuggled in from a neighbouring country for sale here in an operation in Kampung Forest here Friday. Acting Sandakan marine police chief, ASP Muhammad Sallam Spawi, said the eggs were found after a boat was boarded in waters near the village about 4.30 am. A man who was on board fled leaving the boat in shallow waters. “The man was believed to be on his way to Sandakan town to sell them,” Muhammad Sallam said at a news conference here Friday. He said the eggs were obtained from several islands near Malaysian waters. Smugglers prefer to sell them here as they fetch a high price of up to RM2.80 (US$ 0.80) each and the demand was high, he said. Source: Malaysian National News Agency, 26 September 2008.

OCEANIA

Feds: Help Stop Illegal Sea Turtle Poaching


Sea turtle poaching is an ongoing problem on Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands and the federal government is asking for the public’s help to stop the practice. Last month, the federal government began offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest or conviction of people poaching sea turtles in Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands, or information leading to the rescue of living sea turtles. Guam’s sea turtles are decreasing in numbers, according to the Department of Agriculture. Both green and hawksbill turtles can be found on Guam. The decline of green sea turtles is attributed to people poaching the species and the threat posed by monitor lizards, stray dogs and cats. Off-roading, people accidentally stepping on nesting areas, development and unawareness of poaching regulations are examples of human actions that displace the turtles and its eggs. Special agents with NOAA have been investigating cases involving the sale and consumption of protected turtle meat and eggs. According to government officials, there is an increase amount of poaching in the Marianas.Source: Pacific Daily News, 01 September 2008.

Tilly the Turtle’s Excellent Adventure

The adventurous Tilly the turtle will today farewell the Unanderra couple who nursed her back to health following an amazing journey, a dramatic rescue, a shock disappearance and a fight to survive. The journey of Tilly, a three-year-old loggerhead sea turtle from North Queensland, ended when she washed up on Corrimal Beach in June, 2500 km from home. Rescued from the sand, she was taken into care at Lindsay Smith and Janice Jenkin-Smith’s Unanderra home. The couple immediately began a rehabilitation program. “She was floating which is always a serious concern, and we believe she may have ingested some plastic,” Mrs Jenkin-Smith said. “We eventually got her to eat some food and obviously she did the right thing - she did her business - and then she started to sink down a little and now she sits down on the bottom of the tank.” Tilly’s health continued to improve but later in June she disappeared. “She was gone from the tank and there was no way she could have got out on her own,” Mrs Jenkin-Smith said. A frantic search ensued and 48 hours later Tilly was returned by some neighbourhood boys. Tilly thrived over the next 12 weeks, growing more than 4 cm in length, meaning it was time for her to return home. Today she will travel by car to Taronga Zoo before continuing on to Queensland where she will hopefully live out her next 147 years. Source: Illawarra Mercury News, 17 September 2008.