News

    This is when they come. During these early summer months, the females labor up the sand on primordial missions to find safe locations to bury their eggs. They have been doing this on our shore long before air-conditioning was invented and condos cast shadows on the sand.
    These sea turtles are one of the Earth’s most mysterious and time-honored creatures.
    The giant reptiles have a prehistoric magnetism that draws humans to them. This wouldn’t be a problem if we only wanted to watch and learn. But I have observed adults guiding children down the beach and shining flashlights into the eyes of the nesting turtles. And even more horrifying, I’ve seen them lift children onto the turtles’ backs and take flash photographs as the turtles retreat to the safety of the sea.
    Already this nesting season, I’ve seen photos and videos on social media of turtles rushing back to the sea after what appear to be aborted attempts to nest. In all of these instances there are crowds of people with cellphones surrounding the frightened creatures.
    The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has made a special effort this turtle season to educate the public about the hazards of cellphone photos during a turtle’s attempt to nest. (See story.)
    “Most visitors to the beach don’t realize that any light on the beach at night poses a threat to these threatened and endangered animals. A nesting female may become frightened or disoriented by the lights or a flash photo and return to the ocean without laying eggs,” said Dr. Robbin Trindell, who leads the FWC’s sea turtle management program.
    We need to leave these creatures alone.
    Isn’t it bad enough that pollutants in the water are causing tumors to grow on turtles’ faces and fins? That plastics tossed overboard or washed into our waterways are ingested by these turtles as they forage for food? That their shells are sometimes cracked by boat propellers or that the turtles are entangled in discarded fishing line or nets and left to drown?
    Sadly, those are just some of the additional challenges the adult turtles face.
    For the hatchlings the odds for survival are even more difficult. It’s estimated only one out of 1,000 makes it to adulthood.
    Watching a turtle dig her nest and lay eggs is an amazing experience, but it’s best done as part of an organized, state-sanctioned outing with a group like Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
    Sea turtles were here long before we were. Let them return to their nesting beaches in peace.


— Mary Kate Leming,
Editor