Protecting Our Florida Sea Turtles
http://SiestaKeyBlueWave.com Protecting Our Florida Sea Turtles is a responsibility of each of us. The Hawksbill and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles frequent the Florida waters, however they do not nest here. So now expanding on the huge population let's look further into our precious visitors. There are approximately 50,000 sea turtles in Florida during the summer months. This makes it the most important nesting area in the United States.
* Turtle Nesting In Florida
The turtle disguises the nest by flinging sand over it. Once she leaves the nest, she never returns. Beginning in May each year the hatching continues through late October. A female can lay several nests during one season and she only nests every two or three years. The nesting process takes hours.
A turtle must drag her massive weight out of the water to the dunes. She uses her back flippers to dig a hole and deposits about one hundred rubbery eggs, each the size of a ping-pong ball.
[ INSERT IMAGE - TURTLES INCUBATING #2] After incubating for two months, the hatchelings break out of their shells and thrash about together causing the walls of the nest to collapse and the bottom of the hole to rise. Once near the surface, the hatchelings wait until the sand temperature cools to emerge. Therefore most emerge after dark. Once out of the nest, the turtles scramble to the water and swim offshore where they will live for several years in seaweed beds drifting along the Gulf Stream. As the turtles grow older they move into coastal waters.
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