Top: Loggerhead sea turtle hatchling on the sand. Bottom: Look closely. The little turt is swimming out to sea.
This week, I had the opportunity to join the City of Miami Beach as they released a nest of little baby loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings at Haulover Beach. To say it was the cutest thing ever is about as accurate of a description as I can muster. The little fellas were about three inches long and wriggled around in the sand, their natural instincts leading them to the water where they swam away to start their lives at sea.
They’re an endangered species and Miami is one of their critical habitats. This year, approximately 182 nests were found in Miami Beach, over 100 on Key Biscayne, 35 in Golden Beach and 19 in Fisher Island. The vast majority of these nests were loggerhead sea turtles, but endangered green turtles and leatherbacks were also represented. A total of 14 million hatchlings are expected to be released statewide this year.
Nesting season is from May to October and it typically takes 50-60 days once the eggs have been laid in the sand for them to hatch. You can spot these nests on the beach partitioned off with yellow tape and warning signs not to disturb.
The largest threat to the species comes from their habitats washing away, light pollution from urban development, pollution and predators in the water.
It’s always a thrill to see a sea turtle while snorkeling, on a boat or even swimming at the beach, and it was really special to see these tiny hatchlings wriggle their way out to sea. In the picture above, you can see a close up of one of the hatchlings at top and below, if you look very carefully, you can see him in the water.
Farewell little turtle, I hope you have a long, happy life and maybe one day we’ll meet again swimming at the reef somewhere.
