|
|
~
During spring and summer, giant sea turtles lumber up the beach in the
middle of the night to deposit their eggs. Leaving tire-like tracks,
they'll choose a nesting site in the dunes; dig a hole; lay about 100
eggs; bury them; then head back to the ocean. Loggerhead, Leatherback
and Green turtles frequent our beaches during the nesting season form
late April until September. |
After
incubating for approximately two months, the hatchlings erupt as a group
from their nest in the cool of the night and scurry to the sea following the
glow of the moon. Many are distracted by nearby lights and head in the wrong
direction, only to be crushed by cars or roasted by the blazing sun. Others
fall victim to predators like raccoons or birds. Those who make it offshore
spend the next few years clinging to seaweed and drifting along coastal
currents. Thousands drown in shrimp trawls and fishing gear. Others die from
pollutants or from swallowing trash mistaken for food. Only a few reach
maturity after several years and may live for 20 or 30 years more.
If
you're lucky enough to encounter one of these endangered turtles as she lays
her eggs, or a group of youngsters as they scramble for life... observe from
a distance as you're witnessing one of Mother Nature's greatest gifts!
Sea
Turtles Even More Endangered After 2004 Storms
The Treasure Coast is one
of the most popular nesting grounds for giant sea turtles. They come
ashore to nest in the beginning of May and hatching continues until late
October. A female can lay several nests during one season and only nests
every two or three years. The nesting process takes hours as she must drag
herself out of the water and into the dunes, dig a hole with her flippers
and deposit about hundred eggs the size of a ping pong ball. She then
covers the nest and never returns.
After incubating for about
two months the hatchlings break out of their shell and thrash against the
walls of the nest causing the hole to collapse. As the sand falls to the
bottom, they scramble to the beach and scurry to the water where they will
live in seaweed beds drifting along the Gulf Stream for several years until
they are old enough to move into coastal waters.
The main danger for
hatchlings is from artificial lighting. When the babies emerge they
instinctively follow the brightest direction. Normally this would be the
open night sky reflected in the ocean. But on developed beaches artificial
lighting attract the hatchlings and they move in the wrong direction only to
be crushed by cars or burn in the blazing sun.
If you happen upon a
nesting turtle or youngsters as they scramble for life, observe from a
distance, keep flashlights turned off and consider yourself blessed to
witness one of nature’s greatest gifts.
The Archie Carr National
Wildlife Refuge, the twenty mile section of coastline from Melbourne Beach
to Wabasso Beach in Florida is the most important nesting area for
loggerhead sea turtles in the western hemisphere and the second most
important nesting beach in the world. 25% percent of all loggerhead
turtles and 35% of all green turtles nests in the United States occur in
this twenty mile zone. Nesting densities of 1,000 nests per mile have been
recorded.
2004 hurricanes destroyed
3670 loggerhead nests and 840 green turtle nests.
|
Archie Carr National Wildlife Sea Turtle Nest Totals
(includes Brevard Co., Sebastian Inlet SRA, and Indian River Co.) |
| |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
| |
(8/27) |
Final |
Final |
Final |
| Loggerhead |
9134 |
12,598 |
14,209 |
15,645 |
| Green |
982 |
670 |
2,070 |
198 |
| Leatherback |
19 |
53 |
19 |
47 |
| |
|
Archie Carr National Wildlife Sea Turtle Nests as of Aug. 27, 2004 |
| |
Loggerhead |
Green |
Leatherback |
|
|
Brevard |
7557 |
791 |
12 |
|
|
SISRA |
492 |
66 |
2 |
|
| Indian River |
1089 |
125 |
5 |
|
| Total |
9138 |
981 |
19 |
|
«
Back to Stories & History
Other fun stories of interest:
Postcards &
Pastures
Memories of the Highwaymen
Endangered Sea
Turtles Nest On Our Shores
Discover The
Legend of the Sand Dollar
Area News &
Info
What's In a Name |
