
A National Park Service staff member prepares to release a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle into the Atlantic Ocean at the Canaveral National Seashore near Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 26, 2021. The rescued and rehabilitated turtles were flown from aquatic centers in Massachusetts and New York to the Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Space Florida, and Herndon Solutions Group provided support. The Turtles Fly Too organization provided the flight to Kennedy. All marine turtle footage/images was obtained with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to: FWC 2021 Consent Permit, MTP-21-005 and MTP-21-114.
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NASA ID
KSC-20210226-PH-CMS01_0106
Date Created
February 26, 2021
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA/Chris Swanson
Location
Playalinda Beach, Florida
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An alligator is spotted sunning on the muddy bank of a canal in KSC. Nearly 5,000 alligators can be found in canals, ponds, and waterways throughout the Center and the surrounding Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. American alligators feed and rest in the water, and lay their eggs in dens they dig into the banks. The young alligators spend their first several weeks in these dens. The Wildlife Refuge encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.
Jan 8, 2004
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An alligator is spotted sunning on the muddy bank of a canal in KSC. Nearly 5,000 alligators can be found in canals, ponds, and waterways throughout the Center and the surrounding Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. American alligators feed and rest in the water, and lay their eggs in dens they dig into the banks. The young alligators spend their first several weeks in these dens. The Wildlife Refuge encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.
Jan 8, 2004
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Two manatees surface for air in water on KSC. Manatees live in Florida's warm water rivers and inland springs. KSC shares a boundary with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.
Aug 15, 2003
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A closeup of a soft-shell turtle seen crossing the tow-way at KSC. The turtle is one of 65 amphibians and reptiles found in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which surrounds KSC. The Wildlife Refuge encompasses 92,000 acres that are also a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals and 117 fishes. The marshes and open water of the refuge provide wintering areas for 23 species of migratory waterfowl, as well as a year-round home for great blue herons, great egrets, wood storks, cormorants, brown pelicans and other species of marsh and shore birds, plus a variety of insects.
May 29, 2003