Sea Turtles and the Gulf Oil Spill: A Timeline

(July 19) -- Since the gulf oil spill began on April 20, organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been working to saving endangered wildlife from the oil-infested waters. The Associated Press is reporting that one such effort (the most massive relocation attempt in history) has led to the release of 56 young sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean from Canaveral National Seashore, Fla., as well as an accompanying heartrending video:

The rescue began when 67 eggs were found and gathered from a nest and given to NASA's Kennedy Space Center for incubation. According to NASA, 22 of the hatchlings were endangered Kemp's ridley turtles, and the remaining were threatened loggerheads. Eleven of the eggs did not hatch.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to five species of sea turtles, all of which are considered at risk of extinction, NOLA.com reported.

NASA is caring for 1,100 eggs at the space center incubation site, part of an ambitious plan to rescue 70,000 eggs from sea turtle nests buried in the sand on beaches along Alabama and Florida before they can hatch and swim into the hazardous gulf waters.

Below, a brief history of how the gulf oil spill has affected the region's sea turtles:

May 3: At least 25 sea turtles wash up dead on Mississippi beaches, though the oil's role in their demise is unclear.

May 6: ABC puts the count at no fewer than 35 dead sea turtles.

June 13: It is nesting season for sea turtles, and in Alabama a piece of oil-cleaning heavy equipment ran over a nest. Volunteers rebury the remaining 127 eggs in a safe location. They will hatch in two months.

June 16: Experts conclude that relocation of nests is necessary.

June 24: The number of sea turtles found dead since April 30 stands at 411, though only five were found with oil on them. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides the following dead sea-turtle breakdown:

210 in Mississippi
88 in Louisiana
66 in Alabama
43 in Florida
4 in the Gulf of Mexico

June 26: NASA receives the first batch of nest eggs.

June 28: U.S. wildlife experts begin to move tens of thousands of eggs hundreds of miles away from the oil spill, relocating them to Florida's Atlantic coast.

June 29: Noting that many dead but unoiled turtles were found with sediment in their lungs and airways, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association hypothesizes that they were choked by fishing nets.

June 30: Animal Welfare Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and Animal Legal Defense Fund file a lawsuit against BP and the Coast Guard for controlled burns, a method used to burn oil slicks in the water. Sea turtles were getting caught in the infernos and burned alive.

July 15: The first sea turtle hatchlings rescued from the shores affected by the oil spill are released.

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