Kelly Martin

Kelly Martin

Mar 16, 2014

Group 6 Copy 117
11

First leatherback!

What an amazing night! In the exact hour that the experiment.com fundraising effort came to a close, we were lucky enough to see a leatherback turtle crawl out of the water right in front of us! Chris and I have been surveying from the road for the past week while we wait for our ATVs to arrive. We drive up and down the road and use the public walkovers to scout for turtles. At one of our last stops for the night, at around 2:30am, we were contemplating whether or not we would encounter a turtle. We walked to the end of the walkway while discussing the likelihood of encountering a turtle using this limited survey method. To our surprise, we were greeted with the sight of a big beautiful turtle crawling up the beach. It was an awesome moment!

From a distance, we watched her crawl up the beach and dig her nest. While nesting, we quickly worked her up and explained our work with a few beachgoers visiting from Michigan. We were all excited to encounter the first turtle of the season. It is a rare for us to find a turtle this early in the season but even more rare for a few tourists walking down the beach to come across one!

Thank you for all of your support! We could not have done it without each and every one of you! We can't thank you enough and we will think of each of you often as we continue through the 2014 leatherback season. Please keep following our work at www.floridaleatherbacks.com where will be posting daily updates. You can also follow us on Twitter @leatherbacksfla or on instagram @projectleatherback

Here is a look at our first turtle of the 2014 season through a very grainy infrared camera.

11 comments

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  • Arlene M. Brooks
    Arlene M. BrooksBacker
    Beautiful to see one so soon. Thankful that she came up within sight of a walk over. Keep up the good work!
    Mar 17, 2014
  • Abigail Lauterborn
    Abigail LauterbornBacker
    Great, keep up the good work, congratulations on reaching your gold
    Mar 17, 2014
  • Jeffery Trotta
    Jeffery TrottaBacker
    Wonderful !
    Mar 16, 2014
  • leslie thomas
    leslie thomasBacker
    Yay! So happy the project is underway!
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Ellen Martin
    Ellen MartinBacker
    Hey.. was she a repeat? Or a brand new visitor?
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Niki Desjardin
    Niki DesjardinBacker
    Awesome!!
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Jim Kovalsky
    Jim KovalskyBacker
    Fantastic!
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Rich Clay
    Rich ClayBacker
    awesome!
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Sandy Fournies
    Sandy FourniesResearcher
    And thank you again to all of you for supporting this project. Looking forward to a great season!
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Kathleen Reed
    Kathleen ReedBacker
    Wonderful story. Thanks for sharing!
    Mar 16, 2014
  • Caitlin Guthrie
    Caitlin GuthrieBacker
    She's perfect!
    Mar 16, 2014

About This Project

Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest species of sea turtle, often reaching over 900 kg. The goal of our study, conducted along the beaches of southern Florida is to understand the size of the leatherback population, individual size, migratory patterns, family lineages, and other important aspects of leatherback biology. Studies like ours are critical to help protect this endangered species from the threat of extinction.
Blast off!

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