FANTASTIC
START TO 2008 KEMP’S RIDLEY NESTING SEASON
By day’s end on May 1, 2008, forty Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests had
been documented on the
of the nests were found on
the number (19) found by this same date in 2007.
Dr. Donna Shaver and her staff, at the Division of
Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS), are ready
for another record-breaking nesting season. If
this year’s nest count exceeds 128, it will mean that nesting has increased for the
fifth
consecutive year. Nesting has shown a notable increase each season for the past four
years.
The size of the cabin at the 40-mile marker has
been increased to accommodate a larger seasonal staff of biological technicians—some
of whom will monitor corrals near the cabin. This will be the first season that beach
corrals (protected areas) will be used at the National Seashore
to incubate some of the eggs. Most of the eggs, as in the past, will be brought to the
Turtle Lab at Division Headquarters for monitoring during
incubation and hatching.
Of special interest during the 2007 season was the
finding of a nest by Dr. Shaver’s trained cairn terrier Ridley Ranger. After tracks
were seen on
North Padre Island
Ridley Ranger was brought in and located the nest within five minutes of his arrival. To
see his picture and read more about this event, go to:
http://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/dog-to-help-staff.htm
Again this year, some of the turtles will be
tracked by satellite. The tracking maps for turtles which have been fitted with
transmitters can be viewed
by going to www.seaturtle.org and finding the link
for PAIS turtles. When the baby turtles hatch,
the public will be invited to attend some of the
hatchling releases. For details, call the Hatchling Hotline at 361-949-7163.
Submitted by
Venice Scheurich and Mina Williams
May 2, 2008
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Recovery Program 2006
Record-breaking season for the endangered Kemp’s ridleys in Texas
The 2006 nesting season was record-breaking. Fortunately, the new sea turtle facility was completed in the spring, because the much-expanded incubation space was needed to accommodate many more nests than ever before. This year’s 102 nests on the Texas coast doubled last year’s 51. Of this year’s nests, 64 were at Padre Island National Seashore, 13 on South Padre Island, nine on Galveston Island, seven on Boca Chica Beach, four on Matagorda Island, three on North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore, one on Mustang Island, and one on Surfside. Additionally, two loggerhead nests were found on the Texas coast this year, including one at Padre Island National Seashore and one on South Padre Island. Also, one green turtle nest was found at Padre Island National Seashore. Hatchling releases were attended by hundreds of enthusiastic fans. These releases—free to the public and starting at approximately dawn on scheduled days—have become a major attraction to the Padre Island National Seashore.
The success of the Kemp’s ridley Sea Turtle Restoration and Recovery Program on Padre Island is due to the more than twenty-five year dedication of Dr. Donna Shaver. She is assisted each year by her seasoned staff (particularly by veteran turtle biologist Cynthia Rubio) and more than a hundred volunteers who patrol the beaches in shifts from 6:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. seven days a week during nesting season (April through mid-July).
Interested potential volunteers should contact the staff at the National Seashore. For more detailed information about the Kemp’s ridley Sea Turtle Restoration and Recovery Program, log on to http://www.nps.gov/pais/
Four sea turtles are being tracked by transmitters which were applied during the 2006 nesting season. Folks interested in following these turtles can log on to http://www.seaturtle.org, click on "tracking," and find the Padre Island sea turtles on the list.