Endangered sea turtle lays 6 eggs at Fla. hospital

In this photo provided by the Turtle Hospital, via the Florida Keys News Bureau, a hand reaches to collect an egg deposited by a critically ill female hawksbill sea turtle Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Fla. The female reptile, laden with eggs, was discovered on a St. Croix, U.S.V.I., beach Aug. 24 just after Tropical Storm Isaac brushed the Virgin Islands, and flown to the Florida Keys-based hospital. Staff members there hope to save the turtle, hatch any fertile eggs and return the mother and babies to St. Croix. (AP Photo/Turtle Hospital via the Florida Keys News Bureau, Jim Weidman)

In this photo provided by the Turtle Hospital, via the Florida Keys News Bureau, a hand reaches to collect an egg deposited by a critically ill female hawksbill sea turtle Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Fla. The female reptile, laden with eggs, was discovered on a St. Croix, U.S.V.I., beach Aug. 24 just after Tropical Storm Isaac brushed the Virgin Islands, and flown to the Florida Keys-based hospital. Staff members there hope to save the turtle, hatch any fertile eggs and return the mother and babies to St. Croix. (AP Photo/Turtle Hospital via the Florida Keys News Bureau, Jim Weidman)

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) ? An injured endangered sea turtle has laid six eggs after being brought a turtle hospital in the Florida Keys.

Bette Zirkelbach is the administrator of the hospital. She says staff was able to harvest the eggs and they have been put in an incubator with sand from the U.S. Virgin Islands. That way if the eggs hatch, the hawksbill sea turtles will be familiar with their native sand.

Any hatchlings will be taken to the same St. Croix beach where the mother was found Aug. 24.

Officials say the turtle has deep wounds on both shoulders and might have been hooked by a fisherman and then repeatedly gaffed to remove the fishing gear.

The mother is in guarded condition.

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Online

The Turtle Hospital: http://www.turtlehospital.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-09-03-Endangered%20Turtle-Injured/id-624797b9e45c4e71a3e83e2849a6e119

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