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Theft of turtle eggs may land tourist in jail©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, SARASOTA -- A Columbus, Ohio, tourist who took 27 sea turtle eggs from a storm-swept South Florida beach, then called a zoo for help when they hatched, said Wednesday she made a terrible mistake. Martha Bowling, a social worker and former science teacher, told officials at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium that she took the threatened creatures' eggs three weeks ago after storms unearthed them near Hillsboro Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale. "It was an error in judgment," she told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Wednesday. "By the time I got them home and opened up the first one and it died, I knew what an error it was. I felt awful." Bowling, 55, knew the species was threatened and knew federal laws prohibiting touching live sea turtles but said she thought the eggs were not viable. She said she thought she would preserve them and share the specimens with her inner-city elementary students. She put the eggs in a plastic bag in a sand and water mixture, took them on the plane ride home and left the bag in the basement. Days later, when they began to smell, Bowling apparently decided to discard them. But they were hatching. She called the zoo. "My son saw a little pile of lint scurrying across the laundry floor," she said. "But it wasn't a pile of lint, and then there was another." Zoo workers picked up the hatchlings Friday. Four died, but the 23 survivors are being fed bits of shrimp and scallions on the ends of toothpicks. "Every human being on Earth has done something that when they woke up in the morning has said: 'What the hell did I do?' " Bowling said. "This is pretty bizarre," said Lou Fisher of the environmental wing of the Broward County government, the local agency in charge of sea turtle nests. If the hatchlings continue to do well, they will be returned to a southeast Florida beach in a few weeks and released. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's law enforcement wing in Ohio is investigating. Under federal law, Bowling could be sent to jail for a year and fined $100,000 for interfering with even one egg. A recent spate of coastal storms that battered Florida beaches left turtle eggs uncovered in the sand or bobbing in the shallow surf. Sandy MacPherson, national sea turtle coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said it's amazing the hatchlings survived the trip from Florida to Ohio because things like inconsistent nest temperature and moving eggs can stop development. Scientists hear of a few cases of hatchling theft every year. Usually the tiny turtles die. Sometimes turtle eggs are poached by those who think they are tasty, and there have been a few prosecutions for black market sales. Sea turtle advocates say the state must do a better job of educating visitors. "If you go out on any of the heavily nested beaches in Florida at night, you'll see tourists doing the wrong things," said Gary Appleson of the Sea Turtle Survival League. "This lady is not unique." Bowling said she is prepared for whatever punishment authorities decide to hand out. "I have very little control over what's going to happen," she said, adding, "My husband is not pleased." Environmental officials advise anyone finding exposed sea turtle eggs to leave them alone, while reporting them to officials if possible. It is best left to experts to decide whether the eggs remain viable for hatching, and to take the right measures to protect them. -- The Sarasota Herald-Tribune contributed to this report.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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