One Month of Leatherback monitoring

A nesting leatherback turtle

A nesting leatherback turtle

One month has already gone by in this leatherback sea turtle nesting monitoring season in the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge in St. Croix. Many of our returning turtles are beginning to lay their 2nd and 3rd clutch!

Here’s an update of our turtle activities from last month: We have seen 59  returning females, and 8 neophytes (new turtles that have not been previously seen or recorded at Sandy Point). Together, these 67 female leatherback sea turtles have laid 107 nests.
 
Our first nest of the season will hatch in a little bit more than a week. Our staff of monitoring biologists are doing a great job tagging every female that comes ashore and look forward to seeing the little hatchlings emerge soon.  We will keep you posted !
Distinctive leatherback tracks are left in the sand as this female returns to the sea

Distinctive leatherback tracks are left in the sand as this female returns to the sea

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