We’re fast approaching the peak of leatherback nesting and wanted to give you a quick update. We have encountered leatherbacks a total of 182 times. We often see the same individuals multiple times since leatherbacks return every 8-11 days and can nest up to 10-11 times each season! We have seen a total of 86 Read more about Mid-Season Update[…]
It’s been a bit of a slow start for us. We had multiple ATV issues pop up within just two days and out survey team got cut short until we could get them repaired. Our team covers approximately 25 miles of beach each night with just a three-volunteer team so our ATVs are crucial to Read more about Three Week Update[…]
It’s World Sea Turtle Day so we thought we’d give you a season update – finally! These girls have been keeping us busy! We have passed the 300 mark! We’ve now had a total of 316 encounters this year. Most of these turtles have been seen numerous times throughout the nesting season. We have seen Read more about World Sea Turtle Day![…]
Well it has been a while! Sorry for the lack of updates but the season always keeps us busy. Last night marked our 50th leatherback encounter of the year. Sadly, it’s been quite slow out there. Low leatherback numbers are being reported around the state. After a couple of low years in 2015 and 2016, Read more about Mid-Season Update[…]
We’re so excited for the 2017 research season! There have been a handful of nests reported in and around our nightly survey area in the last three days. We are getting all of our gear prepared to start regular surveys this weekend. It takes a full army of ATVs and lots of Pelican cases full Read more about It’s that time of year![…]
The 2017 field season has begun! ATVs are ready, gear has been purchased, database system upgraded and most importantly; the turtles have arrived! We now have two nests along our primary study area at Jupiter Island. More updates soon as we begin our nightly surveys.
Well we’ve come to our least favorite time of year. Our nightly leatherback surveys are over. Despite a relatively low nesting year in our area, we had a great season. We had 214 total leatherback encounters this year. We saw 84 unique individuals and 35 were new, previously untagged turtles. We saw as many as Read more about End of season summary[…]
What is it like to do what we do? We thought we’d show you! We shot this time video lapse over the course of three hours as we surveyed for leatherbacks under the full moon. There are dozens of loggerheads and even a few green turtles emerging on this one small stretch. This gives you a feel Read more about Traffic jam[…]
Although the season seemed to be coming to an end, we were pleasantly surprised to find four leatherbacks while surveying last night. It was an absolutely gorgeous night. The water was eerily flat and perfectly clear. You could see turtles swimming everywhere just offshore. At one point, we even saw a small shark swimming in Read more about another perfect weekend[…]
The team at Florida Leatherbacks would love it if every day was World Sea Turtle Day! It is to us. We are getting ready for our last week of leatherback surveys here in south Florida and hoping a few girls have stuck around for us. We want to remind everyone of a few ways that Read more about World Sea Turtle Day[…]