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Turtle Power Closes JFK Runway
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 8, 2009
Modified Jul 8, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 8, 2009
Modified Jul 8, 2009
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Move over geese, according to the NYC Aviation website, JFK airport was overcome with turtles today, 78 diamondback terrapin turtles, each weighing 2-3 pounds, to be exact.
The site notes that perhaps they were "washed out of their swampy airport-side homes by the rain." Whatever reason, runway 4L/22R was forced to close, causing delays—but around 1 p.m., "Port Authority wildlife staff have moved the turtles to a safe location, though there could be residual delays as the shift from runway 4 to runway 31 operations created quite a bottleneck."
The little green visitors aren't that surprising, as the airport is surrounded by swamps, creeks, bays and undeveloped land, which the site says also houses rabbits, snakes, feral cats, "and the occasional runaway show dog" (what?! Oh, yeah.). Oh, and you know, Canada geese.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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