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Show I hf Salt 1 akt- - I rihum- Monday, November 5, 1W4 A3 One Woman's Love Helps Save a Vanishing Breed of Turtles By Sidney Rubin Associated Press Writer SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -I!a Loetscher lifted 40 pounds of slippery turtle out of a saltwater tank and gave it a kiss "Give mama a hug Dave Irene, she said, cradling a hawksbill sea turtle in her arms The turtle wrapped its flippers around her The tiny, wrinkled woman placed her cheek against the hawksbili's head and made a clicking sound The turtle clicked back N'ow wave bye-byDave Irene. The turtle waved its flippers and was returned to the tank Loetscher watched it paddle a full circle in the concrete tank and return to where she stood The turtle raised its head to look at her and waBed Loetscher looked back and smiled 1 seai ching for shells Shell hunting took her southward along the Mexican coast So when Brownsville conservationist Pearl Adams needed volunteers with Jeeps to go south on a turtle rescue expedition Loetscher was asked to go along Adams had noted a decline in the number of Kemps Ridley turtles, which nest about 400 miles south of the border on a tiny isolated stretch of beach called Rancho Nuevo, and the group was recruited to bring back eggs for hatching on South Padre vc learned a lot about love from my turtles," said Loetscher, a childless widow Theres a piece for everything in the world, she said "Darwin said there are more intelligent animals in the sea than on land If we lose life in the sea weve lost a lot of knowl' edge The Iowa native moved to South Padre in 1959 after her husband died and island residents came to know her as the woman with Harpo Marx-stylwhite hair who drove a red Jeep along deserted stretches of coast e Adams and 11a did some thing lor Kemps Ridleys lung before anyone else did. Burchfield said In 1947. when the nesting beat h was discovered 40.000 female turtles Tk-at- l were photographed arriving from the sea to lay eggs But adult Kemps Ridleys coming ashore were slaugh tered for meat and hides and nests were ravaged for eggs believed in Mexico to be an aphrodisiac Since the 1970s, a program to savi the endangered species has evolved using resources from U S and Mexi can government agencies and umv er Slties Today the turtle population is about 1.500 constant for the last five years Warns About Dangers l.oetsther continues to spread the word about dangers facing the spe ties talking about the turtles with Johnny (.arson on the Tonigh1 show and with Jane Pauley on Mil's To day show, among other programs Writers from National Geographic magazine and other publications have found their way to her house with the mural of turtles in front Beneath that mural, LoeGrlier piesents four shows to about i,5i0 tourists a week She dresses turtles iri frilly skirts scrapes, wigs and hats We wan ,eople. especially chll dien to love the turtles." said Evelyn Sizemore, a volunteer in Loetschers Sea Turtles Inc Regardless of how the creatures respond Loetscher s love for sea tur ties is its own reward Shes just so dedicated to the turtles and to leaching others about them Sizemore said "Her commitment keeps her going ' SOLID VALUES FOR YOUR HOME VK Shop Friday Monday RAWEST or Swings No Monopoly on Love "Human beings have no monopoly on love, she said 7:30 Other Nites 'Til 6:00 J Loetschers human friends may not have a monopoly, but they have an abundance of affection for the "Turtle Lady" of Padre Island. Last week, this South Texas city marked her 80th birthday with "Ila Loetscher Week and threw a party in her honor. "She has probably been responsible for more people becoming aware of the plight of critically endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles than anyone in the country, said Pat Burchfield, chief herpetologist at Brownsvilles Gladys Porter Zoo and field coordinator of a joint Kemp's Ridley turtle rescue project. "She has done more to promote the welfare of the turtle than a dozen marine biologists," he said. Since 1966, Loetscher has cared for any turtle brought to her home creatures choking on tar, bleeding from a severed flipper or suffering from a birth defect. All Get Silly Names Besides her care, all receive silly such as Jonathon Livingnames ston Sea Turtle or Smiley McCoy. Two turtles currently live on the first floor of Loetschers beachfront home and a dozen more swim in backyard tanks & 'Til CLOSED SUNDAYS New Arrivals To Make Fall Home Making Chores Easier And Save You Plenty, As Well. o Whirl APPLIANCES These Quality, Dependable Whirlpool Appliances Have Just Arrived By The Carload" In Time To Make Fall Living More Enjoyable. FALL DELUXE ELECTRIC Vi HOME WORK SPECIALS Haitian Refugees Run Aground On Boat 1 6 U.S. MIAMI (UPI) Bahamian officials took custody of 180 Florida-boun- d Haitian refugees Sunday, 150 men and 30 women who were intercepted by the Coast Guard when their wooden sailboat overloaded, ran aground. The Haitians, fleeing poverty in their homeland, spent at least three days on Jamaica cay, a small coral outcropping in the Bahamas some 350 miles southeast of Miami. 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