With only 5 weeks to go, the season is slowly coming to an end. So far, we have reached an astonishing 76 turtles – the all time high for the project was 67 in 2008. Had you asked us in July if the project would pass last year’s numbers we probably would have said no. The season has seen a second wind: nesting activity continued steadily through August and the last 3 weeks has seen 11 more turtles starting their nesting seasons, including 5 neophytes. Neophyte numbers have not yet reached last year’s total - two short - but we won’t be surprised if a few more come up.
We have now documented 282 nests (as of October 7th), which was the total number at the end of last season! Nest hatches are now at their peak, with at least 3 nests emerging every night. Nearly impossible to predict when the nest will erupt, we find most by spotting a path of trampled sand leading to the ocean; usually with over 100 small tracks coming from a depression in the sand. With over 100 nest excavated, we have had over 11500 hatchlings crawl into Pasture bay and swim to new horizons.
Christine O’Sullivan from Jamaica joined us for a week in September to learn about our monitoring project. We have been in regular contact since her visit and are pleased to announce that this has lead to the formation of the Jamaica Turtle Project. It is the first sea turtle monitoring program in Jamaica. It was set up just a few days ago and already recorded a nest hatch and one hawksbill nesting. We wish them luck!
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