Turtle Tracks
Sea Turtles to Make
Their Return
 The Emerald Isle
season is off to a slow start.
So far we have had two strandings and two false crawls. A stranding
is either an injured turtle or a dead turtle
in both cases ours
were dead. A false crawl happens when a mother turtle comes on shore
and for some reason she decides not to lay a nest. This usually
happens because something disturbs her
humans, animals, lights,
noise or things in her path. Our second false crawl came up over the
first dune and into the second dune. She fell into a natural pit in
the sand and had a hard time getting out. When she did, she ran into
a sand fence, turned and ran into a second sand fence, turned again
and ran into a third sand fence. After that she did a 180 degree
turn and headed back to the ocean. Hopefully these two ladies will
be back.
Most of the
nests we have on Bogue Banks are loggerhead nests. A female
loggerhead can be between 150 and 400 pounds. On occasions we have
nesting green turtles and leatherbacks.
The second week
in May we had a baby dolphin swim up on the beach. She was so scared
heaving, breathing and with a fast heartbeat. We contacted the
marine mammal stranding hotline and after a lot of effort and
communication we were able to get her back out beyond the surf
hopefully to meet her mother.
Here are some
things to remember when you are on the beach:
Keep beachfront
outside lights off.
Please pick up all trash
sea life will eat plastic bags thinking
they are jellyfish. When you dig holes on the beach please fill them
back in. Turtles and humans can fall in these holes and injure
themselves. If a hole is deep enough the turtle will not be able to
get out and could die. Fireworks that shoot into the air or make a
loud bang are illegal in
North Carolina and the trash remains for
turtle walkers to pick up the next day.
Put your lawn chairs and tents away at night because its
hard for a turtle to navigate through a sea of tents and chairs.
If you see a
turtle on the beach at night DO NOT USE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY OR
FLASHLIGHTS.
Be quiet (turtles
have good hearing) and do NOT touch her.
Sit downwind of her and enjoy the sight.
If you are
interested in helping with the Emerald Isle program contact Pam
Minnick at paminn@aol.com or call 252-354-4288.
If you see a turtle or turtle tracks, contact Pam or call the
local police.
By the Craigs, Horners,
Minnicks and Zuckers
Read more articles in the May print edition of Island Review.
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