The leatherbacks are here! EARLY!! The first nest of the year was documented on February 6th – the earliest on record in Florida. We are now aware of SIX nests on our study area. Doss that mean it will be a record year? We hope so! Thanks to our friends at Ecological Associates Inc. for Read more about Well, they are here early![…]
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[…]
Our surveys started about a week ago and we’ve had an exciting start to the season! Over the weekend we attached a transmitter to a turtle named Kailani. This transmitter will monitor Kailani throughout the nesting season to allow us to determine how many nests she lays and where she goes between each nest. We’re Read more about Exciting Start![…]
In less than two months, our team will once again be on the beach conducting research on Florida’s endangered leatherback sea turtles. Our lead biologists have been doing this work for nearly 20 years! We have encountered leatherbacks thousands of times and identified over 800 unique individuals. In 2019, our team of volunteers encountered leatherbacks Read more about The 2019 season is almost here![…]
We’ve been having lots of fun on the beach this past week. On Saturday, May 5th, we attached a transmitter to one of our nesting leatherbacks as part of a new research project that we’re conducting in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The transmitter will allow us to follow this leatherback as she leaves Read more about Tracking Excitement![…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]