By Florida Bill
If you are strolling along one of the many Florida beaches, you might catch sight of a path leading away from the water, resembling one made by a truck tire. It won't remain there long as the tide will soon wipe it away. But it was there for a special reason. It marked the arduous, sand-flipping journey of a sea turtle who crossed the beach to dig a nest in the sand, deposit her eggs, and return to the water.
In some 45 to 70 days, those eggs will break open and hatchlings will emerge en masse and with their tiny flippers, wend their way to the water.
For about one out of every one thousand of these tiny creatures, it will be the beginning of a long life in the water. For the rest, Mother Nature has laid out a perilous journey, strewn with pollution, chemicals, discarded fishing gear, disorienting beach lighting, boaters, coastal development, and of course, natural predators.
Among the sea turtle species are the Leatherbacks, Greens, Loggerheads and Hawkbills. Each nest in the sand, shaped like a light bulb, will contain from 80 to 120 eggs the size of ping pong balls. Each mother can lay multiple nests.
Sea turtles are endangered species pursuant to Florida law and in accord with the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. Nova Southeastern University manages the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program in partnership with Broward County. An important part of this effort is the Marine Environmental Education Center (MEEC), based in the Carpenter House, which is situated along the shores of the Atlantic in Hollywood, Florida.
The facility is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturdays, and the friendly staff will deliver a full plate of "turtle talk," and answer questions concerning the fascinating life of these animals. (Visit nova.edu/meec for more information.) The life of sea turtles can last for 50 to 75 years Starting their life as a one inch long hatchling, some species like the loggerheads and leatherbacks will grow mightily and attain a weight of 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, explained the facility director, Dr. Derek A. Burkholder, a turtle and shark marine scientist. Their life is then spent gliding about the ocean floors like Jules Vernes' Nautilus, surfacing from time to time for air and for depositing eggs into their nests in the sands.
About 30 student and alumni volunteers assist the NSU researchers and staff who mark and monitor some 22-24 miles of shoreline for nesting mothers. Nesting season begins in about mid-March, and continues through June, hatching continues into September. So far this years, some 32,000 nests have been observed. As the hatchlings burst from their eggs and from the nests, staffers monitor them with red lights to make sure they make it to the water.
The nests are then inventoried, and any hatchlings who did not make it out by 7 a.m., along with those who were disoriented during their own march to the sea, are gathered up and kept in a dark, dry container at room temperature and released under supervision after 9 p.m. Hatchlings deemed unfit can be kept for two or three days. If they still aren't ready, they are sent to rescue facilities. Every step is part of the effort to improve those grim survival odds.
As part of a small group observing the baby turtles' race to the sea late one evening, we watched by dim red light--even the moon can disorient the hatchlings and send them flippering off in the wrong direction--as the turtles who had been collected earlier because they were in need of release, scattered and ran along the sand until they were swept up by the waves. Laggards were scooped up to try another night.
As part of a small group observing the baby turtles' race to the sea late one evening, we watched by dim red light--even the moon can disorient the hatchlings and send them flippering off in the wrong direction--as the turtles who had been collected earlier because they were in need of release, scattered and ran along the sand until they were swept up by the waves. Laggards were scooped up to try another night.
Carpenter House also is home to a 52-pound (and gaining) Green turtle whose life for the last couple of years has been inside a pool fitted with a special filtration system next to the house. With plenty of staff affection, that lady has been named "Captain" and she swims with abandon to the delight of her watchers, with all meals and necessary medical care provided, explained Dr. Burkholder.
Captain was injured several years ago when she was struck by a boat which cracked her carapace, rendering her unable to dive and surface, and causing a condition known as "bubble butt." To correct this, said Burkholder, staff scientists have affixed weights to Captain's carapace giving her the ability to function normally. As she grows, the weights have to be adjusted. Captain eats about a head of lettuce and a good amount of vegetables daily, all provided in a special dip net device. Green turtles live a long life and their weight may hit 250-400 pounds. So, Captain has some growing to do," Director Burkholder told a group of patrons visiting the facility.
Does the Captain get lonesome? No, said Dr. Burkholder, I don't think so. However there has been talk of introducing a second female Green by the name of Morgan into the pool, but there has been no decision on that. Captain seems quite content, said the director. Periodically, he said, she is lifted from the pool and examined by the scientists to assure that her vitals are in order, and that the carapace with its crack, is okay for swimming, diving for food and surfacing for air. Turtles have lungs, as do other animals, and needs to surface to breathe from time to time, although they can remain under water for an extended period of time.
The conservation facility also will intercept sea turtle mothers on their way to nest and will equip them with a flipper tag and an electronic satellite tag which enables the scientists to follow and record movements. In some cases, the turtles will swim for thousands of miles, but generally will return to the same nesting vicinity every other year.
There is also a sea turtle emergency response hotline. If you come across a dead, sick or injured sea turtle or hatchling, call 954-328-0580.
There is also a sea turtle emergency response hotline. If you come across a dead, sick or injured sea turtle or hatchling, call 954-328-0580.
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