Business Aircraft Transport Turtles
Last fall, when hundreds of endangered sea turtles washed up on cold New England beaches, private aviation stepped in to "air mail" them back home.
Here one of 600 lucky turtles is prepared to hitch a ride from Cape Cod to a more hospitable climate.
Here one of 600 lucky turtles is prepared to hitch a ride from Cape Cod to a more hospitable climate.

Every year as summer turns to fall in the Northeastern U.S. and temperatures fall, sea turtles get stranded in Cape Cod, Mass. Usually, fewer than 100 of the endangered seagoing creatures wash up on local beaches, but last year–perhaps as a result of the mild fall weather–the sea turtles moved north from their traditional southern waters. When the inevitable cold weather moved in, currents trapped them in Cape Cod Bay, and conservationists reported strandings of nearly 2,000 mostly young turtles, far more than local institutions such as the New England Aquarium could accommodate. Turtles are susceptible to cold shock, so if they were to survive they needed to be transported to southern facilities in a climate-controlled manner, and quickly.


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