A few good nights on the beach for our season opener this week. With cool breezes and dark skies with no moon, but plenty of stars, our team has been patrolling full nights. It’s a tremendous amount of walking, at least 10 miles per night! But patience pays off and we have identified four nesting turtles. Erica, Ann, Ariella Cassandra and Maia Mia are now officially nesting!
On 1 April, Erica (MJ32) arrived. She was originally tagged in 1995 and was last seen in 2014. She’s adopted and named by Ellen Drago, an enthusiastic supporter of the project.
Also on the 1 April, we found Ann (SPP002). She was a new turtle back in 2011, and nested last in 2015. She’s adopted by volunteer Ann Mulder!
2 April brought us Ariella Cassandra (SPP205), adopted by Vanessa Findiesen and named by Ben Allman. AC is another 2011 turtle and she nested last in 2017.
Finally, last night we had an early turtle at 10:37 pm. This one was a turtle that has never been seen before so she was given new tags and measured for the first time! She’s Maia Mia (SPP858), adopted by Vanessa Findiesen and named by Marcus Allman.
We should be seeing these turtles regularly throughout the season! Stay tuned for more!
The St. Croix Leatherback Project is supported by the Sea Turtle Census Initiative, which is sponsored by The Ocean Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) organization, based in Washington, D.C., but working globally to protect our oceans.
The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project 