Rare Turtles Hatched in Captivity for 1st Time

Two of the world’s rarest sea turtles, the first known to have been hatched in captivity, were doing well Wednesday as marine biologists kept watch on two other nests, hopeful of more hatchings.

The Kemps ridley sea turtles, which weigh an ounce apiece, were the only ones to hatch Saturday out of a clutch of 20 eggs at the Clearwater Marine Science Center’s natural hatchery at Sand Key.

“Those were the only two, the rest of the eggs were infertile,” executive director Dennis Kellenberger said Wednesday. “But we’re anticipating some more as soon as next week. We have two other nests of about 20 eggs each, about two weeks apart.”