Promising start to sea turtle nesting season ends in disappointment

Imagine the surprise felt by sea turtle lovers when the number of egg-filled clutches laid on Southwest Florida beaches during last summer’s nesting season totaled a normal year despite shorelines transformed by Hurricane Ian.Even better: The mommas kept coming.Female sea turtles often return to the beach of their birth to nest every three years or so, which made understandable the fears of the large and active cadre of turtle volunteers that Category 5 Ian in September 2022 had rendered nesting beaches so unrecognizable the females would be lost, search aimlessly, then dump their eggs at sea.

Related Keywords

Captiva , Florida , United States , University Of Florida , Big Hickory Island , Sanibel , Captiva Island , Sanibel Island , Bonita Beach , Fort Myers Beach , Jack Brzoza , Kelly Sloan , Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation , Southwest Florida , Hickory Island , Hurricane Ian , Turtle Time , Hurricane Idalia ,