Visitors fascinated by Canaveral National Seashore’s Sea Turtle Watch Program
By Laura E. Henning

For visitors this shared experience establishes an emotional connection to a species that many know little or nothing about before they come to Canaveral National Seashore.

EACH SUMMER, SEA TURTLES RETURN to Canaveral National Seashore in Florida to make their nests and lay their eggs, but the turtles are not the only ones drawn here for this event. In June and July 2005, interpreters guided more than 1,600 visitors on nightly walks in a quest to view nesting sea turtles and learn about the national seashore’s efforts in sea turtle conservation. Because of its protected status, Canaveral National Seashore is the perfect classroom for observing how sea turtles behave in nature without interference from lights, traffic, or artificial barriers on the beach.

NPS

The endangered green sea turtle may not reach reproductive maturity until 30 years of age. Canaveral National Seashore had a record 1,039 green sea turtle nests in 2005.

The experience of the turtle watch is as extraordinary as the nesting process itself. It is resource immersion at its finest. The program begins with a hands-on talk about sea turtles and Canaveral National Seashore’s role in their preservation. Tension and excitement mount as the group awaits the call that will take them to the dark beach to see the real thing. The group is quietly led to the nesting loggerhead turtle as she is laying her eggs. The rangers and volunteers use red-filtered flashlights to provide a better view without disturbing the female turtle. Though the group may number up to 30, the volunteers are quiet and awestruck. Whispers about her size and the perfectly round Ping-Pong ball–sized eggs mix with comments of appreciation for what she is going through. When she finishes covering her nest and returns to the ocean, the group breaks into a satisfied round of applause. For visitors this shared experience establishes an emotional connection to a species that many know little or nothing about before they come to Canaveral National Seashore.

During summer 2005, the 22nd season of the sea turtle nesting program, the national seashore was the site of 3,600 nests made by green sea turtles (Chlonia nydas), leatherbacks (Demochelys coriacea), and the threatened loggerheads (Caretta caretta). Nest numbers have ranged from 1,776 in 1987 to a high of 4,563 in 2000. Volunteers and biotechnicians put in hundreds of hours on the beach collecting data on nests and screening them from predators. Turtle watchers have been concerned that the number of loggerhead turtle nests has declined in recent years, and data collected over the last five years do show a slight downward trend in 2004 and 2005. In the next few summers, program participants will collect crucial data regarding the future of the threatened loggerhead sea turtles that come to nest at Canaveral National Seashore where they provide an unforgettable experience for visitors.

NPS

This loggerhead sea turtle is depositing her eggs and lays between 80 and 150 per clutch.