So we see turtles pretty much every day, multiple times a day now! And even more than seeing the turtles we their nests, EVERYWHERE! The nesting season is definitely picking up!
Here are some fun turtle facts:
·
Each turtle that comes up to nest will lay
around 100 to 250 eggs. 150 is average.
·
She will nest 3, 4, 5, 6 times this season – about
every two weeks.
·
One turtle last season nested 7 times!
·
They saw over 500 turtles last season and over
1000 nests!
·
Of all of those eggs only 1 in 1000 will make it
adulthood and come back and nest.
·
The Hawksbills reach adulthood at 25-30 years.
The latest exciting and different turtle adventure came earlier this week
when I got a call on the hotline at 5:55am!
Yes, I was sleeping… It was for a turtle that fell into a drain on its
back. Remember these turtle are HUGE,
like 150 pounds huge. So Tiffany and I
raced down to the small hotel that called and checked out the scene. We saw it attempted nesting near the drain
and fell in! Luckily it fell on the only
patch of tall grass in the drain and its shell did not appear to be damaged. Also it flapped its flippers when we first
touched it – YAY it is ALIVE! However it
must have flapped a lot because the left eye was all bloody from the flipper
hitting it repeatedly! The edges of the
flippers also looked a little cut up, but ok.
We guessed which way it must have flipped, important to flip it back the
same way because otherwise their insides get a little messed up, and with the
help of the guy who called us rolled her over.
We needed him to hold her armpit/shoulder area so she would stop
flapping! In little spurts of energy she
worked her way out to the ocean while took her measurements and noted her
condition. That’s right, we saved a
turtle!!! It wasn’t until I got home
that I saw that I had mud everywhere!
Like a human dalmation! Wish I
had a picture to share!
Adventures around the island:
More swimming and snorkeling down the street at paradise beach (no
tourists, only locals)! I particularly
enjoyed having three fish that looked like Dory from finding nemo circling my
feet! I also enjoyed when the sky opened
up and poured on us while we were swimming.
And no, we didn’t immediately come in, the water was warmer than not
being in the water so we stayed!
Also, we bought more fish at the Bridgetown fish market. We brought home types I have never heard of
and will have to ask Alex and Jeremy what kind of fish they were again… but so
far …yum, yum, YUM!
We also made friends with the lady selling flying fish sandwiches, also
YUM!
I can now also say I have been to all sides of the island. Our most recent exploration was to the north
north point on the island to see the animal flower cave. Our guide told us Barbados is mostly made of
coral… I HAD NO IDEA, the other nearby island are mostly made of volcanic sand
I think. The caves were cool, but not
that exciting. It was interesting to see
the landscape change as we headed north.
Much more country, green space, even smaller winding roads if that is
possible, and no beaches, just cliffs…very high cliffs! And much to Alexs delight apparently there
are sharks off the north coast… which made me happy that we were up on cliffs,
VERY high cliffs J
Love you all! Keep sending me updates!!!
Erin
No comments:
Post a Comment