Confused sea turtles march into restaurant

About 60 newly hatched sea turtles lost
their way during their ritual passage to the sea and marched
into an Italian restaurant instead, a conservation worker said
on Monday.

The baby turtles -- which ended up under the tables of
startled diners at the beachside restaurant -- were probably
thrown off track and lured by the eatery's bright lights, said
Antonio Colucci, who was called to help rescue the group.

"They saw the artificial lights and took the wrong route,"
said Colucci, who works on a turtle monitoring project for the
conservation group WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).

"The diners were at first quite curious and then someone
alerted the coastal authorities."

The stranded turtles, which had hatched on a beach in the
southern Italian region of Calabria, were released into the
sea.

Female sea turtles nest on beaches and their offspring
instinctively head to the sea after hatching from their eggs.