"Dozens of endangered sea turtle eggs have been moved to Florida's Atlantic coast to protect them from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said on Friday.

Hundreds of sea turtles, some with signs of oil exposure, have been found dead and debilitated along the U.S. Gulf Coast during the disaster, prompting government scientists to embark on a relocation drive.

A Kemp's ridley turtle nest with 60 eggs recently was driven from Florida's Gulf Coast to the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral for incubation. Fifty turtles have since hatched and been released into the sea.

Although Kemp's ridley turtles inhabit both coasts of Florida, researchers do not know if the baby turtles will be harmed by living in the Atlantic. The turtles normally return to beaches where they were hatched."

Emma Ashburn reports for Reuters July 19, 2010.
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