We’re Counting on You!
To ensure the continued survival of our threatened and
endangered marine turtles, please observe these best practices during the nesting & hatching season, April 15 – October 31:
1. Lights Out
All indoor and outdoor lights visible from the beach should be shielded, repositioned, replaced or turned off from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (close blinds or curtains).
2. Do Not Disturb
Do not touch or disturb nesting sea turtles, hatchlings or their nests. IT’S AGAINST THE LAW! If you find a dead, sick or injured sea turtle, please call the FWC’s 24-hour Wildlife Alert Number: 888-404-3922.
3. Nothing Left on the Beach at Night
Remove all beach furniture, chairs, umbrellas, tents, toys and trash from the beach nightly. Do not leave man-made teepees or huts on the beach at night.
4. No Holes
Fill in any holes dug after enjoying the beach each day.
5. No Fires on the Beach
Meet Our Sea Turtle Species
Loggerhead and Green Turtles are the species typically seen on North Captiva Island.
Did You Know?
- Unlike freshwater turtles and tortoises, sea turtles cannot withdraw their head or flippers into their shells.
- Sea turtles are marine reptiles and must come to the surface to breathe air.
- In all sea turtle species, adult males have long tails, while females’ tail are short.
- Adult females return to land to lay their eggs in the sand, generally in the area where they hatched decades earlier.
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)
The loggerhead is the most common sea turtle in Florida and is named for its massive head that supports jaw muscles powerful enough to crush hard-shelled prey.
The average adult has a shell about three feet long and weighs 275 pounds. The shell is reddish-brown on top and a pale yellow underneath. Each of its flippers has two claws. Although it swims slowly compared to other sea turtles, the loggerhead can show remarkable endurance, traveling great distances in a matter of days.
Loggerheads may live 70 to 80 years or more! Females reach maturity around 35 years of age and, every 2 to 3 years, return to nest on a beach in the general area where they hatched. They lay an average of 4.1 clutches with an average of 114 eggs in each nest.
Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Known for their inquisitive faces and rounded shells, green turtles are generally not aggressive and may allow divers to get very close.
They often have a favorite sleeping location to which they return night after night. Although their flippers appear a bit small for their bodies, they are perfectly designed for propulsion.
With an average weight of 350 pounds, everything about green turtles is BIG compared to loggerhead turtles. The crawl is wider and longer, the body pit is huge, the amount of sand thrown is enormous, and the hatchlings are bigger and faster. A female green turtle can take up to three hours to complete the nesting process, moving one ton of sand before she is finished. Females lay an average of three clutches in a season, and a typical nest contains 15 pounds of eggs!
Baby Turtles (Hatchlings)
Baby turtles hatch approximately two months after the eggs are laid. They use an egg tooth called a carbuncle on the top of their beaks to rip through their leathery shell.
After leaving their egg, a group of hatchlings begins a “hatching frenzy,” crawling all over one another. The sand in the nest is knocked down and, using group effort, the nest slowly rises toward the surface of the beach. Small groups make it to the surface, but single hatchlings have difficulty, as they can lack the strength to climb out. We sometimes find these babies, called stragglers, when we evaluate nests.
Where Do Hatchlings Go?
After emerging from their nest in the dark, hatchlings usually find the gulf because the sky is slightly brighter over the water than land.
They also are drawn to the sound of the surf as well as the downward slope leading them to the water. Once a hatchling enters the ocean, a wave picks them up about 5-10 yards from the beach and carries them into deeper water. Using the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate, after a few days they are far from shore and, upon reaching large areas of seaweed, will rest and float in the currents.
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