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Turtles Chose JFK Runway As Mating Spot
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 9, 2009
Modified Jul 9, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 9, 2009
Modified Jul 9, 2009
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Ew, the Daily News uses the word "randy" to do so, but aw they tell us that the nearly 80 turtles who crawled onto the runway at JFK yesterday were there to make baby turtles! They were rudely interrupted however, when the "Port Authority workers rushed to the shell-covered runway about 8:30 a.m. and scooped up 78 diamondback terrapins." (According to WCBS 2, a "chorus of pilots" had radioed the tower to chime in about the "massive numbers" of turtles.) The breeding turtles, which are about 8 inches long and weigh 2 to 3 pounds each, were put into a pickup truck and moved back to Jamaica Bay. One Port Authority spokesman said, "Everybody had a good attitude considering it was turtles going off to hatch more turtles." And if they weren't, then what.... they get the Canada Geese treatment?
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baby turtles
breeding
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mating
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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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