Sea turtle nests popping up in record numbers
Jun 15, 2012 5:42 PM EDT
By Gaby Fleischman, Collier County Reporter
COLLIER COUNTY - Sea turtle nests are popping up across Southwest Florida in record numbers, but no one can figure out why.
Lynne Transky works on the sand every day. One of her jobs is teaching tourists about the roped off territory taking over portions of Vanderbilt Beach.
"They get fascinated; the kids almost start crying when they see this," she said.
The nature-lover says every day she sees more and more sea turtle nests popping up along the Gulf.
"I see the nest with the caution tape I know were getting bigger and bigger with the turtles," Tansky said.
The number of sea turtle nests in Southwest Florida has doubled, even tripled, on most beaches.
In Collier County there are 517 nests so far. On Lee and Charlotte beaches, there are nearly 400.
"We haven't ever seen numbers so high," said Maura Kraus, with the Collier County Department of Natural Resources.
There are so many nests that turtle programs in Lee and Collier are running out of supplies like wooden stakes used to rope off the nests. And so far, no one can figure out why number of nests is so high.
"It's kind of a mystery. It could be that we have an earlier than normal season or it could be combination of all the protections we've given turtles," Kraus said.
Warmer waters sparked an early start to nesting season and a program that raised turtles in captivity and released them could also be the cause.
"It could just be our babies back on the beach," Kraus said.
Experts say they won't know for sure until the turtles hatch and head out to sea. Then, they'll have a better idea.
"After a 10 year steady decline, seeing this up-tick is very exciting for us we just hope that it continues," Kraus said
NBC News
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