Turtle Rescue

Sea turtle rehabilitators decided to spice things up this year.

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Is She Island’s Oldest? Box Turtle Isn’t Telling
Mark Alan Lovewell
The Island’s oldest resident may well live in the woods of West Tisbury. Her name is Boxer.
 
Two nine-year-old girls have seen her. Lucy Hodgson and Amelia Krales saw the ancient woodland traveler at the start of the summer. The old lady was making her way down a narrow path in dense woods under dappled sunlight.
 
She is a very old box turtle.
 
Tom Hodgson, Lucy’s father, has read in science books that a box turtle can live for 130 years.
 
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Sea Turtle Rescue Is Result of Training and Heart

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon when Bret Stearns, director of the natural resources department for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), got a call on his mobile phone. On the other end of the line was the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, which had just received a call about a sea turtle in distress about a mile southwest of Menemsha.

Mr. Stearns grabbed one of his assistants, Tyler Moreis, and headed for the water. On the way, they passed Aquinnah harbormaster Brian (Chip) Vanderhoop. They turned around, caught up to Chip, and enlisted his help.

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Coast Guard Frees Turtle South of Vineyard
Sara Brown

A crew from Coast Guard Station Menemsha Sunday came to the rescue of a leatherback sea turtle entangled in a lobster pot south of Cuttyhunk.

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Sea Turtle Strandings
Suzan Bellincampi

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles have a lot of superlatives to their name, but “most likely to succeed” may not one of them.

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Hibernation or Brumation, Some Turtles Turn to Butt Breathing
Suzan Bellincampi

There are some turtles that take their breaths through their other end. Yes, that’s right, not through their mouth, but through their anus.

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Painted Turtles Get Their Moment in the Spotlight
Louisa McCullough

Oscar Thompson has spent the summer chasing turtles for his senior thesis at college. Not known for their speed, painted turtles can still be elusive in their natural habitat deep within the Vineyard's ponds.

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Presidential Turtle
Suzan Bellincampi

Tom Hodgson of West Tisbury has a few turtle tales to tell. 

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Vineyard Resident Helps Give Stranded Turtles Second Chance

A seasonal resident of Chilmark stepped up to help stranded sea turtles over the Christmas holiday, arranging for 50 of the endangered reptiles to be flown to warmer waters and rehabilitated.

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Leatherback Turtle Rescued South of Vineyard
Sara Brown

A team from Coast Guard Station Menemsha helped free a leatherback turtle entangled in fishing gear south of the Vineyard early Friday morning.

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