Turtles on JFK Runway!

[3113]

Why has no one posted this yet? Happened yesterday:

Flights were temporarily halted at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Wednesday morning after about 150 turtles ambled onto a runway. JetBlue first tweeted news of the slowdown: "JFK is experiencing delays as the airport clears turtles off the runway." Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico said flights were delayed only about 15 minutes.

“We had about 150 turtles coming out of the bay this morning," said Marsico. "They crossed the runway to a sandy beach area to lay their eggs."

The diamondback terrapin turtles were gathered on runway 4L, plus nearby taxiways, starting at about 6:45 a.m., NBC affiliate WNBC-TV in New York reports. The turtle migration occurs annually at the airport, which is located near Jamaica Bay. The turtles typically head out of the bay to nest on the beach each summer. Marisco added that "staff has been out there since quarter to 7 this morning relocating them.”

Full story plus pictures, videos, tweets, etc. here.

Poor turtles! How rude of the airport to put runways between them and their beach?

 

[Stella_Omega]

The very word "Turtles" brings a smile to my face.

I imagine uniformed staff standing by to shift the little guys-- a special badge for turtle redeployment to be awarded to the best of those kind folk.

 

[R. Richard]

The turtle situation wouldn't have taken all that long. However, an airport person was dispatched to help the turtles across the runway. The airport person, for whatver reason, no reason, asked, "Are you a turtle?" The turtle replied, "You bet your sweet ass I am!" The airport person, unable to deal with that sort of thing, bailed out.

 

[mynameisben]

I don't think it was the turtles so much that slowed operations down at JFK. It was the TSA officials x-raying each shell before allowing the turtles to cross over the runway, and then taking the time to crack open and inspect each egg they laid before allowing them to cross back again.

 

[trysail]

Damn! Good eatin'!

There's only one place in the world that I know of that still serves terrapin soup.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Diamondback_turtle_adult_female.jpg/800px-Diamondback_turtle_adult_female.jpg​

http://www.all-fish-seafood-recipes.com/index.cfm/recipe/Terrapin_or_Turtle_Soup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foods_of_the_Southern_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondback_terrapin

 

[PennLady]

Many moons ago, when I lived near Atlantic City, NJ, I heard about a study done nearby. There is a bridge called the Margate Causeway that connects the city of Margate with mainland NJ, and someone put fake turtles and fake snakes out to see what people would do. As I recall, people would take steps to avoid the turtles, to the point of pulling over and getting out of their cars to move them.

The snakes fared not so well. Drivers would not only make sure to run over them, but apparently a few backed up to make sure they got them. They are the ones that feel as my husband does, no doubt: the only good snake is a dead snake.

 

[TE999]

We have Gopher Tortoises that wander into the road from time to time, also Red Belly Cooter and Soft Shelled Turtles migrating from one pond or canal to another. People always stop or drive around them; some stop, pick them up and take them to the other side of the road. I saw a Gopher Tortoise attempting to cross a 4 lane road and had just reached the median. Someone stopped, picked it up and 2 lanes of traffic waited until it was carried to the other side.

 

[3113]

We have Gopher Tortoises that wander into the road from time to time, also Red Belly Cooter and Soft Shelled Turtles migrating from one pond or canal to another. People always stop or drive around them; some stop, pick them up and take them to the other side of the road. I saw a Gopher Tortoise attempting to cross a 4 lane road and had just reached the median. Someone stopped, picked it up and 2 lanes of traffic waited until it was carried to the other side.

Yey. That's the sort of respect turtles deserve!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Heck, in California the desert tortoises have their own designated private kingdom. We know how to treat tortoises right.

 

[Boxlicker101]

With the exception of snapping turtles, most people have affection for turtles and tortises and terrapins. They are basically harmless and many persons have affectionate memories of pet turtles or terrariums in school, and they treat them as they deserve.

If they can reasonably shut down that section of runway during migration season, they should do so.

 

[lovecraft68]

I thought the turtles worked there? nah they would be faster than the actual JFK employees.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I remember one year the family, mom, dad, bro and me, were on a vacation drive to Pittsburgh. When we hit the Penn. state line and got on the turnpike, it was covered with turtles migrating to the other side.

Do you know what turtle sounds like as he hits the bottom of the car when a tire shoots him out at a hundred miles an hour?

Pop, bang, splash, kaboom.

Forty-five miles of that.

This was back int he sixties.

 

[TE999]

Somebody quipped that the turtles bypassed the terminal and went right for the runway because it took them six hours to take off their shells so the TSA could pat them down.

 

[JustaSCOUNDREL]

We have Gopher Tortoises that wander into the road from time to time, also Red Belly Cooter and Soft Shelled Turtles migrating from one pond or canal to another. People always stop or drive around them; some stop, pick them up and take them to the other side of the road. I saw a Gopher Tortoise attempting to cross a 4 lane road and had just reached the median. Someone stopped, picked it up and 2 lanes of traffic waited until it was carried to the other side.

I live a few miles outside Phoenix, AZ. Just a few weeks ago a similar thing happened just a couple of miles from my house. In this case it was a Roadrunner trying to cross a moderately busy six lane surface st. All six lanes stopped and waited until he got across.

 

[mynameisben]

Somebody quipped that the turtles bypassed the terminal and went right for the runway because it took them six hours to take off their shells so the TSA could pat them down.

How pedestrian. He must have been a turtle-wit.