MTN 44:14-15 Press Release: "The Great Ridley Rescue"

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Press Release: "The Great Ridley Rescue"

THE GREAT RIDLEY RESCUE
by Pamela Phillips; illustrated by Janie Lowe
180 pages, 8 1/4 x 9 inches, paperback, US$19.95
24 color illus., 24 black/white illus.; maps, diagrams, index
Includes a list of aquaria displaying the Kemp's ridley sea turtle
ISBN 0-87842-229-3
Release date: November 19, 1988

From Houston to Washington D.C. the Kemp's ridley sea turtle has captured the hearts and minds of the public. The focus of an international effort to save it from extinction, the Kemp's ridley sea turtle is one of only eight species of sea turtles found in the oceans of the world. These reptiles which returned to the sea at the time of the dinosaurs, are today in danger of disappearing. THE GREAT RIDLEY RESCUE is the fascinating tale of the unique fight to save the Kemp's ridley back from the edge of extinction. The plight of the sea turtles is captured in the paintings of Janie Lowe which illustrate THE GREAT RIDLEY RESCUE. Her paintings add a warm and personal touch to the story.

The plight of the turtle has been brought to the forefront with special programs on PBS and TBS television, and more recently by Jane Pauly on the Today Show. The story of the rescue effort and of the unlikely and sometimes hilarious adventures of the people involved is contained in the book. The main conservation effort centers on protecting nesting females, eggs, and hatchlings at Rancho Nuevo, in Mexico. "Operation Head Start" is an attempt to establish a second major nesting ground at Padre Island, Texas. After being imprinted in the sand and sea water there, the hatchlings are "head started" in plastic buckets at Galveston (Texas) for a year before final release off Padre Island. At the heart of the book are fictional adventures of four head start turtles adopted by school pupils, members of HEART (Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles), a volunteer organization which has thousands of members worldwide. The natural history of the Kemp's ridley is described, together with hazards facing sea turtles and ways the reader can help with turtle conservation.

Author Pamela Phillips was born in New Zealand. She wrote THE GREAT RIDLEY RESCUE in an apartment in Houston while her husband Leon served as a Visiting Scholar at Rice University. Illustrator Janie Lowe grew up and attended school in Texas. She spent a year in Vail, Colorado, before returning to Texas to illustrate THE GREAT RIDELY RESCUE.

THE GREAT RIDLEY RESCUE is available from bookstores or from the publisher, Mountain Press Publishing Company, P. O. Box 2399, Missoula, Montana 59806 USA (telephone: 1-800-234-5308). Mountain Press requests that US$2.00 be added to the price of the book for mail orders; Master Card and Visa accepted. For more information, contact David Flaccus or John Rimel at Mountain Press.