Lights Out - Sea Turtles Dig the Dark

From May 1st - October 31st our beaches are hopefully visited by mother sea turtles looking for a safe place to lay her eggs, and then by those babies as they make their way to a life in the ocean.

To help make Pleasure Island beaches welcoming to these incredible creatures make note of the following recommendations:

• Leave only footprints (remove all trash and belongings when leaving the beach)
• No flashlights
• Fill in any holes
• Pick up beach furniture (& pop up tents)
• Don't touch
• Knock over sandcastles

You can learn much more by visiting the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project website: http://www.seaturtleproject.org/

FREE Turtle Talks at the Kure Beach Ocean Front Park

Turtle Talks on Mondays from 7:00-8:00pm at 105 Atlantic Avenue in Kure Beach.  Learn about sea turtles from the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project and how they do an amazing job of helping to protect these animals.  Learn how to do your part in protecting the sea turtles.  Receive expert advice on what to do if you see a mother sea turtle or her babies.

Find more fun things to do on Pleasure Island on the Event Calendar. 

Sea Turtle Talks - Wednesdays this Summer at the State Park

Baby Leatherback Turtles Hatch on Carolina Beach!

The Star-News reported on Tuesday about the hatching of 70 baby leatherback turtles on Monday night whose mother came to nest on Carolina Beach in July (see Leatherback Sea Turtle Nests on Carolina Beach).

This hatching marks the first time in a 20 year recorded history that leatherback sea turtles have nested on Pleasure Island. Leatherback sea turtles can grow to be six and a half feet long and weigh almost 2,000 pounds. They are much larger than the loggerhead turtles we're more used to seeing nest and hatch on our Pleasure Island beaches.

This hatching event was attended by over 100 volunteers and onlookers, several of whom had important jobs in protecting the nest and leading the baby turtles out to sea. Some guarded the nest overnight from predators such as foxes or birds during the last couple of weeks. One volunteer used a lantern to simulate the moon on an otherwise moonless night when the babies made their way out of the sand and needed guidance in finding their way to the sea. Together, the team of volunteers worked to make sure every one of the leatherback turtle babies made it to the sea.

People who watched this event said it was the most beautiful or amazing thing they had ever seen.

StarNewsOnline.com has a video showcasing the hatch. It is definitely worth watching. You can read the full article and watch the video here:

www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090915/ARTICLES/909159986

Were you there? Did you see it? What did you think? Leave a comment to let us know.

Leatherback Sea Turtle Nests on Carolina Beach, N.C.

A leatherback sea turtle, the largest living reptile in the world (about six and a half feet long and almost 2,000 lbs), made its way onto the shore at Carolina Beach early Wednesday morning. It spent about an hour or so on the beach to lay its eggs and then headed back to the seas.

The Star-News reports that while no one actually saw the leatherback turtle, Carolina Beach police Officer Wray Lefler found tracks measuring more than 6 feet across. He called Nancy Busovone of the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project to alert her of the tracks. Upon inspecting the nest, Busovone identified decoy eggs left on top of the nest and determined that it belonged to a leatherback sea turtle.

It must have been an amazing sight just to have seen the tracks. Busovone told the Star-News that it "looked like a small tractor had come up the beach." She likened the visit to "an elephant wandering around on the beach and no one seeing it."

Leatherback sea turtles are endangered species but staff and volunteers with the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project will do their part to keep the species around a bit longer. The nest area is currently blocked off with caution tape and in about six weeks, "volunteers will stand by around the clock waiting for a sign of eggs hatching so they can help guide the baby turtles safely into the sea."

Female leatherback sea turtles lay about 100 eggs per nest and babies will grow up to be as long as six and a half feet and weigh almost 2,000 pounds.

To read the full article from the Star-News, please visit:

www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090708/ARTICLES/907089954

For more information about sea turtles, please visit:

www.SeaTurtleProject.org

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/leatherback.htm