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Friday, June 2, 2000
Turtle hatching is near
Kemp's ridley turtle release is Saturday
By Darren Barbee
Caller-Times
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| David Pellerin/Caller-Times |
| Donna Shaver peeks into one of the containers that hold the Kemp's ridley turtle eggs that will be hatching soon. She said the room is like an incubator. The facility is kept between 86 and 90 degrees. |
Watching the Kemp's ridley turtles scamper out to sea is an experience that has been known to make grown men cry, said Donna Shaver, a biologist who studies sea turtles at Padre Island National Seashore.
But before the baby turtles take their inspirational first waddle out to sea, it takes a watchful eye and a little prep work to make sure they aren't dragged down into a ghost crab's burrow or plucked off the beach by a hungry, laughing gull.
A release of the turtles is expected sometime this weekend and biologists with the U.S. Geological Survey are on hatch alert, Shaver said. The turtles may be released as early at 7 a.m. Saturday.
The Kemp's ridley turtle is the most critically endangered sea turtle species in the world, with a worldwide population of about 7,000.
The public is invited to the release and there is no fee for attending, Shaver said. Spectators are asked to avoid wearing light or white clothing or shoes that can disorient the turtles.
In preparation for the release, volunteers and staff will rake away seaweed from the release site, push sand into crab holes and stock up on Cheetos and cat food to divert the gulls, if necessary, Shaver said.
"When people congregate the gulls think, 'Oh, food!'" Shaver said. "We don't want to lose any (turtles) on the beach. We've worked too hard."
This year biologists are incubating 1,007 eggs found in 10 nests along the South and North Padre Island shore.
The turtle's incubation chambers are Styrofoam chests more typical for transporting beer than an endangered species to the beach.
In the turtle lab, a small building adjacent to the park rangers' station, the eggs are kept in closely regulated temperatures ranging between 86 and 91 degrees.
Temperature, which is monitored on computers, can play two roles in the turtles' development, Shaver said.
The hotter the turtle eggs are kept, the more likely they are to be females. And, temperatures just a few degrees above 91 are lethal.
Ridley release
The public is invited to the release of the Kemp's ridley turtles and there is no fee for attending. Spectators are asked to avoid wearing light or white clothing or shoes.
For the latest updates on sea turtle hatching, call 949-7163.
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The eggs, which are white, about the size of Ping-Pong balls and have a leathery texture, are kept buried beneath several inches of sand.
Shaver examines the surface of the sands for hatching clues.
Shaver peers into one chest and notes that in the sand there is a circular pattern, slightly discolored.
Shaver said the moisture comes from fluids released from the eggs when the turtles escape. In another box, there is a hairline crack in the surface of the sand indicating that something is moving below the packed sand.
Turtle hatching signs are difficult to see, especially in the dark, Shaver said.
But the ridleys have to be kept in darkness, especially when close to hatching, or they will try to scamper out too soon.
"At the first glimpse of light they're ready to go into the water," Shaver said.
The turtles become so sensitive to light that in the hours just before they go to sea Shaver examines their incubators with a flashlight capped with a red lens.
When the turtles hatch, they're weighed at the lab and then carefully prepared for transport.
At hatching, they are palm size and weigh about half an ounce. When fully grown the turtles are about the size of a manhole cover and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds.
Shem Unger, a paid biological technician who works for Shaver, found one turtle nest in late April that will hatch later this summer.
This is Unger's first year to work on the National Seashore, but he's witnessed releases in Mexico and said the experience is amazing.
"It's kind of like watching dinosaurs, because you know they've been around millions of years," Unger said. "It's a very rare thing these days. It's a good feeling."
For volunteers and staff, Unger said the release is the best part of the job after endless days patrolling 80 miles of beach in hopes of spotting quickly disappearing turtle tracks.
"You see the fruits of your labor," Unger said. "Everyone works so hard get the few nests they get. It's very fulfilling."
Staff writer Darren Barbee can be reached at 886-3764 or by e-mail _at barbeed@caller.com
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