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Loggerhead Sea turtles
Each summer along the beaches of Southwest Florida, We witness a process that was created long ago. Graceful giants of the deep, loggerhead sea turtles come ashore to excavate a nest and lay their eggs.
Named for their large head, which measures up to 10 inches across, loggerheads can fly through the water propelled by their large front flippers, using their powerful jaws to eat crabs and sea urchins. Reaching sexual maturity at about age 20, the 250-400 pound females mate out in the warm waters of the Gulf and nest every 2-3 years.
During evening hours from May through October, the magic and mysteries of God's creation persuade the females to emerge from the waters to begin the slow, laborious drag up the beach. Searching for the perfect place for her nest, many factors can discourage her from her task - lights, loud noises, fire ants, people, dogs, and even storms. If she is frightened, she will return to the sea, to search again for a suitable beach. When she has located a suitable place, she digs a nest in the sand using her back flippers. Eighty to one hundred ping pong ball-sized eggs are deposited in the hole.
After about two months, hatchlings will start to emerge. This is a very precarious time for the young turtles, as there are many predators, including crabs, sea gulls and fish. Few other of the hatchlings will reach adulthood. While some believe that only one in one thousand will obtain maturity, others believe the odds are even worse. Hatchlings that do survive swim off in search of drifting carpets of sargassum weed. Young turtles spend several year float, feeding on small creatures seeking shelter in the sargassum. Twenty to twenty-five years after emerging from the sand, they'll return to their native beaches to continue the cycle started long ago.
Bright lights, and even flash cameras, can confuse and discourage females from nesting. IF a sea turtle is encountered, please do not disrupt her natural behavior.
Lights along our beaches can be deadly for new hatchlings. Emerging from their eggs, clawing up through the sand, their instinct is to crawl toward the lighter reflection of the night sky on the sea. Any type of artificial light can disorient them, drawing them further up the beach and to an almost certain death.
Turtles can become entangled in trash or eat floating debris that they mistake for food. Please do not litter our beaches or waters.
All sea turtles are protected by federal and state laws Please do not disturb females, their nests or hatchlings. Loggerhead sea turtles are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered and Threatened Species Act, and tour beaches are critical to the survival of this species. Florida is one of only two world epicenters of loggerhead nesting - the other is Omann in the Middle East.
Let's all do what we can to ensure these magnificent creatures will continue this ancient rhythm of reproduction on our shores for many years to come.
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