Florida Turtles

Only seen occasionally in Florida waters is the green sea turtle, and rarer still, the leatherback, the largest of the sea turtles.

The latter two are classified as endangered species. Anyone found disturbing turtle nests or in possession of live or dead turtles is liable to fines or imprisonment.

Many of Florida's beaches provide perfect nesting grounds for sea turtles. Nesting occurs from May to September when the turtles swim ashore at night, pull themselves forward onto dry sand and dig a laying cavity for their eggs.

The eggs are released 2 or 3 at a time until about 100 or so eggs have been laid. The turtle then covers the eggs with sand and returns to the ocean, leaving the nest unguarded. Loggerheads will build four or five nests per season at intervals of 10 to 12 days. The eggs attract raccoons and other small animals that dig them up for food and the survival rate through to the hatching stage is not high.

Hatching takes place after 60 days and the baby turtles orient themselves by moonlight to find the ocean. However, the lights from nearby developments that often line the beaches can lead the hatchlings in the wrong direction away from the water. Volunteer Turtle Watch programs operate throughout many areas of Florida at hatching time and try to herd the young turtles in the right direction.

The Canaveral Seashore on the Florida east coast, is a 24-mile stretch of pristine coastline and is one of the favored locations for nesting loggerheads. Other nesting sites are near New Smyrna, to the south at Miami and at Cape Sable on the west coast.

Despite the bleak statistics, Florida's loggerhead  turtles continue to make the perilous trek from the familiarity of the ocean to the beaches of Florida to lay their eggs in this annual pilgrimage that spans the centuries.