Strange story out of Vero area. Man missing after sea turtle attack

[floridafam]

Wow.

www.local6.com/news/9662353/detail.html

 

[DVCconvert]

That is very weird! I can't ever remember hearing of a similar situation!

 

[rinkwide]

I swear I'll never eat another bowl of turtle soup again.

 

[dvc at last !]

...or use tutle wax for the car...

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Geeze... I didn't need to know that. I'm a wave riding nut that will be in Vero real soon I already have a slight shark/man-o-war/eel phobia, now I have to worry about TURTLES! Actually we're going to VB at this HOT time of year in hopes of seeing hatching loggerheads.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm sorry to read this. It's so sad and unexpected.

We went swimming with sea turtles in Barbados, I was in awe, but didn't think we were in danger.

Bobbi

 

[Fitswimmer]

I'm thinking that the turtle had an objection to being tagged.

 

[JimMIA]

One of the stranger aspects of this story is that that local TV station seems to have scooped the entire world. I've googled the story several ways, and haven't found any other news organization carrying it.

Seems like someone would have picked up on it in this Internet age.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Very strange and sad story............... there was no one that could have helped him?

Not much on this story.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I wonder if the student was wearing something that looked like sea lettuce or whatever turtles eat, and that's what the turtle grabbed.

I also do hope that people don't go wild targeting sea turtles now. I guess the best thing would be if this isn't a true story.

Bobbi

 

[JimMIA]

I did find another story on this incident. This one says the researcher jumped overboard to tag a turtle and went under, as opposed to being pulled off the boat by the turtle as the TV report said. This sounds much more plausible.

Here's the link: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/NEWS01/608110337/1006/news01

 

[rinkwide]

Channel 6 is on a roll:

Squirrel Attacks Anger Winter Park Residents

Better hide your nuts.

 

[vonpluto]

I did some checking with my sources at Mickey's Secret Police. The targets of these alleged attacks were all involved in some way with the posting of the CRV renderings on the web.

 

[JimMIA]

I did some checking with my sources at Mickey's Secret Police. The targets of these alleged attacks were all involved in some way with the posting of the CRV renderings on the web.

Anybody heard from Tink10 in the last couple of days?

 

[MojitoMiss]

I wonder if the student was wearing something that looked like sea lettuce or whatever turtles eat, and that's what the turtle grabbed.

Yep. My mother-in-law has a bathing suit like that. Hmmmm.........


MM

 

[PamOKW]

While still an odd incident, this version is a little more detailed. It says they were using a "new" method where the researcher dives into the water and grabs the turtle, instead of staying in the boat and catching the turtle in a net.

I would think the turtle could knock the researcher unconscious and/or there may have been something other than just the turtle in the water.

Vero Journal Story

 

[BeccaG]

This web site has lots of info on sea turtles courtesy of our friends at Sea World . Sea Turtle Info I guess some varieties are meat eaters too. But I don't think that normally includes anything the size of a grown man!! I think PamOKW's theory about something else in the water or the guy loosing consciousness is a good one!

 

[PamOKW]

Today's article mentions that he may have held on to the turtle as it dove deep, causing him to blackout. The Coast Guard has exhausted their search for him but the turtle team is going to keep looking. Here's part of the article

Llew Ehrhart, a UCF professor who was aboard the boat Thursday afternoon, said he called 911 after Lyon, an experienced sea turtle biologist and diver, was missing for four minutes.

"The third, fourth and fifth minutes were just horrible," he said Friday. "Something terrible went wrong once he got below the surface, and we don't know what."

Lyon was practicing the "rodeo-style" method of capture, which involves a diver jumping on a turtle, grabbing its shell, positioning it toward the surface and onto the boat.

Although the capture method has been used for decades without incident off the Florida Keys and other clear, shallow waters worldwide, it was one of the first times local researchers dove into the ocean instead of using nets.

Ehrhart said it was possible Lyon held on as the turtle forcefully dove to the bottom of the ocean, possibly blacking out. He didn't hit his head on the boat, nor was there a struggle visible underwater, Ehrhart said.

"We're pretty sure he did get a grasp with his left and right hands on the turtle shell," Ehrhart said. "That seems to be the only reason the turtle went down so fast."

Lyon, who had been working at the Marine Research Turtle Group for eight months, had been interested in studying the habits of adult green sea turtles and had been practicing techniques while also writing proposals for grants for satellite tags and biological analysis, Ehrhart said.

"We were right at the beginning of planning for this," he said. "He was absolutely committed, obsessed by the project. He was consumed by the project."

Earlier in the day on Thursday, the six researchers had used nets to capture turtles for research about 400 yards from the shore. When the winds changed, Lyon asked Ehrhart to spend the rest of the boat's gasoline on a final run down the coast in search of adult male green sea turtles.

"I knew how much it meant to him," Ehrhart said. "I wish I said no."

 

[theblackbird]

we were actually down at vero when this happened. the guy was trying to tag the turtle and wasn't wearing scuba stuff, didn't have a snorkle or fins either. the turtle didn't "attack" him. I think he probably got dragged under by the turtle/currents. He apparently had been tagging turtles for a number of years though.