Aug 23, 2008
The Turtle Hospital responded to a call from a resident of Ocean Resort on Long Key who reported seeing a number of hatchling turtles in the road (US1) the previous night. Staff picked up 4 Loggerhead hatchlings from the resident and received the location information.
At mile marker 66 (West end of Long Key), twenty hatchlings were found that had been run over by cars.
As the scene was being documented, the resort day watchman found another live hatchling and the night watch man stopped by to report that someone had picked up and released approximately 20 to 30 hatchlings they collected from the roadway (the previous night). The nest was located (another live hatchling found during inventory) and a probable light source that caused the disorientation was identified. (Lighting in the area of a hatching nest can cause the emerging turtles to head towards the light instead of the ocean). All hatchling disorientations are documented to the FWC and problems with light sources visible from nesting beaches, are turned over to City or County code enforcement for correction.
Turtle Hospital staff Tara Vickrey with one of the lucky hatchlings.
Aug 20, 2008
Earlier this week, Marathon was affected by tropical storm Fay. While it did not reach hurricane level there was quite a bit of rain and high winds in the area. The winds were strong enough to damage the shade cloth which covers the pool and tank enclosure at the Turtle Hospital.
The Turtle Hospital has a hurricane plan that was put into action. In addition to the normal preparations like putting up shutters and placing lawn furniture inside, steps are taken to ensure the safety of the turtles in our care. During hurricane Wilma in 2005, the enclosure area where the 100,000 gallon salt water pool and 26 large tanks are, was under 6 feet of water due to the storm surge. Fortunately, none of the turtles that were in the pool during the storm were lost or hurt (the smaller turtles from the tanks were moved into the hospital and dry docked in kiddie pools).
Last year, thanks to a generous grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we had two 30 foot diameter, 26,000 gallon fiberglass tanks installed behind the hospital. Each tank has sand filters, protein skimmers and ozone generators, being able to operate as either a closed or open system. Gasoline pumps fill the tanks from the Gulf and can be used in case of extended power outages. This provides the ability to remove all the turtles from the enclosure area and provide safe housing during a storm.
Prior to Fay’s arrival, staff moved all of the turtles from the pool into the tanks. This was the first time the new tanks have contained turtles and was good practice, providing a number of lessons learned. The added bonus was having the permanent resident turtles already being handled so all of them got a physical.
Aug 8 2008
Two juvenile Green Sea Turtles arrived today at their new home in Connecticut. The turtles were hatched from eggs and had been used for research for the past 4 years, to provide baseline information in the study of the transmission of fibropapilloma. The small turtles are healthy and active but could not be released as they had never been in the wild. The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk will house the turtles in a 30,000 tank as part of an educational exhibit.
Turtle Hospital director, Richie Moretti accompanied the turtle on a Fed Ex flight from Ft Lauderdale to New Jersey. The turtles were transported out of water and required on going care to keep their eyes lubricated and shells moistened.
Aug 7, 2008
The FWC received a report of a floating Loggerhead Sea Turtle in Kemp’s Channel, near Little Torch Key. The Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary was contacted and Team Ocean coordinator Todd Hitchins along with volunteer Peter Moorcroft responded. They were able to locate the 102 pound turtle which was swimming on the surface and unable to dive. The turtle came right up to the side of the boat which is not normal but made rescuing a lot easier. The Turtle Hospital met their boat at a nearby marina and transported the animal back to Marathon in the ambulance.
Theresa is very active and strong. X-rays did not show any impaction and blood work did not identify any issue. When put in a tank with shallow water, the turtle would constantly swim in to the side of the tank, biting at the tank walls. This is not typical. Usually a turtle will find the walls of the tanks and quickly learn that they can not go any farther. Also, there is no interest in offered food. Staff has done some basic vision testing and there is no response to movement or brightness changes close to either eye. Veterinarian staff will do additional evaluation to determine if Theresa has a vision problem.
Update Aug 9, 2008
Sadly, suddenly and unexpectedly, Theresa has died. The turtle was in a shallow tank and was being monitored hourly and was very active / strong at the last check. Staff suspects the turtle had a neurological disorder, causing the blindness, constant swimming and biting. A necropsy will be performed to determine what was cause of the problems.
Boat Hit Season
Summertime in the Keys. Vacationers out in their boats fishing, diving, doing whatever. Lobster mini season (thousands more boaters). Start of commercial lobster season (more, large boats out every day). The results are a dramatic increase of the number of sea turtles that are injured and killed. In the past week alone, the Turtle Hospital has picked up two live turtles (that subsequently died of their injuries),
one fresh dead
and did reports on 4 others that were called in from the Marathon area. This is only part of the number killed statewide.
Boaters should obey the No Wake zones in canals and channels (where turtles and boats are squeezed together) and be aware there are more adult turtles in the near offshore waters due to nesting season. Slowing down improves response time and has added benefit of using less gas…
Aug 2, 2008
Each year during turtle nesting season, the Turtle Hospital cares for a number of hatchlings. These are the ones that become disorientated due to lighting in the area of the nest, that become entangled in vegetation, don’t make it out of the nest (found during inventory of the nest), are injured by animal / insect attack or are washed back to shore. Nesting beaches in the Keys are monitored by a network of volunteers, Park staff and others that walk the beaches daily to identify nesting crawls that occurred the previous night. Nests are marked, monitored and inventoried after hatching.
Hatchlings brought to the Turtle Hospital are placed in tanks and offered food (pieces of squid tentacles and small bits of shrimp). Once the hatchlings start eating, they are ready for release.
After emerging from the nest, hatchlings would normally swim to the Sargassum sea weed patches that are prevalent off shore this time of year. The ones in our care are given a boat ride out to the sea weed patches to ensure they have a good chance to survive (birds and fish are always on the look out for a quick and easy snack).
A group of Loggerhead hatchlings were released yesterday. Pictured below is Holly Rolls who is one of the beach monitors for Sombrero and Coco Plum beaches in Marathon. Holly brought in several of the hatchlings (found during inventory of nests she identified) and had the opportunity to see the babies off to start their life in the ocean.
