May 20, 2011

Happy Endangered Species Day!

All sea turtle species are threatened or endangered.  In honor of sea turtles and Endangered Species Day, choose to do something to benefit these amazing reptiles!  Even small steps can help ensure the survival of sea turtles for generations to come.
  • Shield or turn off beachfront lighting- Lighting can disorient sea turtles.
  • Reduce your plastic use, especially plastic bags- Sea turtles mistake plastic for their natural foods. Consuming plastic kills sea turtles.
  • Dispose of fishing line properly- Sea turtles can become entangled or eat monofilament.
  • Pick up garbage on the beach
  • Remove all beach furniture, tents, etc from the beach at night- Sea turtles can become entangled in beach furniture.
  • Avoid using flashlights on the beach at night- Lights on the beach can cause sea turtles to not come ashore or abandon their nesting attempt.
  • Fill in holes on the beach - Large, deep holes can trap adult and hatchling sea turtles. 

May 10, 2011

Crawling Steadily Ashore

We are a week into sea turtle season and the ladies have been steadily coming ashore. As of today there are eight nests on Sanibel and one nest on Captiva. All nests are loggerhead nests, with the exception of one Kemp's Ridley nest on Sanibel. When the turtles aren't nesting, they are testing out the beach with false crawls, like the very short one on the left. Sanibel has ten false crawls and Captiva has none.