National Geographic Traveller

Find us

FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ FLICKR PINTEREST INSTAGRAM

An encounter with baby loggerhead turtles turns a trip to southern

Florida into much more than a beach holiday. By Joanna Reeves

“They’re lively,” shouts Eve Haverfield, into the gale. “I opened the sunroof and

windows on the way here so they could smell the ocean air.” Uncovering the

bucket, she hands me an inky-eyed loggerhead the size of a child’s palm, his

tawny flippers frantically paddling the air — it’s hard to believe he could grow up

to be 350lb and over 3ft long.

Once placed on the sand, he instantly scurries towards the lightning-

lit horizon, alongside the seven other survivors rescued from a flooded

nest here on Bonita Beach. Under a leaden sky, huge waves roll in like

unfurling carpets, spreading foam-specked patterns around our feet.

“The rough sea’s good,” Eve yells. “They’ll be camouflaged” — the wind

steals the rest of her words. “From predators,” she mouths.

One has turned, crawling inland. “Wrong way,” says Eve, turning him

around. “Sometimes they’re a bit confused.” I silently will mine on, as he

clambers over a glistening pen shell. Slowed down by the obstacle, he’s

the last to reach the shore. A wave crashes over him and he’s swept along

with the swell — reappearing when the tide retreats, a tiny speck on the

silvery sand. The second crest makes him disappear. Little is known

about the lives of these mysterious creatures. It’s estimated just one in

1,000 hatchlings make it to maturity, due to the many threats they face.

“I’ve seen some horrific things,” says Eve. “Turtles with fishing wire

wrapped around their neck, turtles stuck under beach furniture, or

crushed on the road — sometimes, trauma from a boat propeller.”

But it’s more widespread factors such as pollution, development on

nesting sites, and shrimp-trawling that have kept loggerheads on the

endangered species list since 1978. Turtle excluder-devices have since

been introduced on shrimp nets in an attempt to provide an escape

route for trapped loggerheads who, when relaxed, are able to stay

underwater for hours, but can drown in minutes when panicked.

That evening, on the foreshore, I pass what looks like a scene

from CSI: Miami. Yellow tape, fluorescing in the glow of a streetlight,

cordons off a string of small squares dotted with patches of greenery.

Turtle nests, Eve explains — discovered by volunteers from Turtle

Time, the non-profit organisation she founded in 1989 that is dedicated

to loggerhead conservation. Every morning at sunrise, from April to

October, they trawl the sun-drenched beaches between Fort Myers and

the Lee-Collier County border, marking and observing new nests or

excavating hatched ones. They scoop sand out from the nests, count the

hatched eggs and release any stragglers into the Gulf of Mexico.

Pinned on a wooden stake is a sign: ‘Violators are subject to fines

and imprisonment’. Curious passers-by shining flashlights can disturb

nesting females and disorientate hatchlings, drawing them away from

the naturally lit ocean horizon. Hatchlings that wander too far can die

from exhaustion and dehydration or stray into roads and driveways.

Fortunately, conservation efforts such Eve’s appear to be paying off.

“In 1989, there were only five nests on Fort Myers beach,” she says.

“This season’s seen a record of 92”. This success is largely due to a shift

in behaviour. Tourists and locals are now urged to draw room blinds to prevent

glare and rely on moonlight for nighttime strolls — or, if that’s not enough, a

turtle-friendly flashlight pointed downwards. Resorts are encouraged to preserve

wilder, untamed stretches of dune-lined beach rather than turning them into

manicured, raked deserts; and to stash beach furniture away after 9pm.

Most importantly, they now have to use amber LED bulbs angled away from the

beach. And those few resorts that are a bit slow on the uptake?

“A hefty fine would soon sort that,” says Eve. I hope that’s all it takes for them to

see the light — or, rather, a lack of it.

sccf.org fortmyerssanibel.com

Here are a few of the posts

with the highest click-rating

on natgeotraveller.co.uk.

(How’s that for saving time?)

LIKE THIS? READ

MORE ABOUT FLORIDA

ONLINE...

LIKE A LOCAL: MIAMI

While it remains as

brash, boisterous and

bling-encrusted as ever,

Miami’s priorities have

changed, with a renewed

focus on its Cuban

heritage and the rise

of its once-neglected

downtown area

FLORIDA:

END OF THE LINE

At the southernmost tip

of Florida it all turns a bit

wild — swamp alligators

and pythons in the

Everglades, reef sharks

and stingrays off the

Keys, and a motley crew

of eclectic, hard-drinking

locals soaking it all in

FOOD: MIAMI

Tips on cooling down and

fuelling up from Sophie

Michell, executive chef of

the Pont St restaurant in

London’s Belgraves hotel

�ost �ead

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Moments in Morocco

Two weeks’ travelling across

Morocco reveals a colourful

country full of fervour

BRAZIL

Rio de Janeiro’s

neighbourhoods

There’s so much more to Rio

than sun and samba. Visiting

wasn’t easy in the lead up to the

Olympics with all the building

work, but now the Games are

over and the crowds and prices

have shrunk, it’s the perfect

time to explore the city’s

refreshed neighbourhoods

BLOG

Kyoto: Flower power

In Japan, flower-arranging is more

than just the stuff of village fetes

and the WI — it’s an art form in its

own right

ITALY

City life: Trieste

Austrian, Slavic and Roman

cultures collide in this unique

Italian city on the Adriatic

DIGITAL NOMAD

Silk Road: The

adventure begins

Our Digital Nomad Emma

Thomson begins her six-week

journey from Beijing to Istanbul

on the road that truly defines the

romance of travel.

IMAGES: GETTY; KRIS DAVIDSON

November 2016 51

ONLINE