November 26, 1987 - Tough Time for TurtlesTough Time for Turtles
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
We rode down to one of our local
beaches the other day to see how the
new winter winds were affecting
these sometimes movable areas.
There we saw a yellow poster. From
a distance I could see a drawing of a
turtle and in big black letters --
WANTED. I had an inkling what is
was about but, just to make sure,
walked over and read what it had to
say. Just as I thought. It was time to
be on the lookout for one of our most
endangered sea turtles, the Kemp's
ridley, that shows up stranded on our
shores when the first cold weather
moves in.
Like all turtles, they are cold -
blooded so when the temperatures
drop they become sluggish and floun-
der at the beach edge. Their appetite
drops off and this combination of cold
and no food in some cases eventually
causes death. Particularly hard hit
by this phenomenon of cold and lack
of food in our waters is the small sea
turtle that the poster was concerned
about. Already this year one has
been reported and rescued in the
Noyac Bay area as well as a green
turtle found and rescued in the Mon-
tauk area. They are both doing well
in a tank at the Okeanos Ocean Re-
search Foundation located in
Hampton Bays.
Ridley Nests in One Spot
Ridley turtles are known to nest
only in one area in the world which
lies about 250 miles south of the
U.S.- Mexican border. It seems odd
that the adjacent area beaches for
hundreds of miles on each side are
never used for nesting -- only this one
spot at Rancho Nuevo. Since 1947
when this nesting site was made pub-
lic, the Mexican government has
played a vital role in the ridleys' sur-
vival. Armed marine guards keep
watch over them and only authorized
personnel such as biologists, resear-
chers, etc. are allowed in the area.
With all this, poaching still is a prob-
lem
This highly endangered turtle has
the odd habit of nesting during the
daytime, not at night as most others
do. A 1947 film showed 40,000 rid -
leys nesting on Rancho Nuevo. Today
there are but 400 to 600 that nest
there and each year the number goes
down. Everything from oil spills,
power boats unknowingly cutting
them up, shrimp fishermen's nets
catching them, to deliberate poach-
ing has whittled down their num-
bers. Today's modern world seems
bent on destroying them.
In 1970 the federal government de-
clared the Kemp's ridley an en-
dangered species and, like all sea
turtles today, they are strictly pro-
tected. Even the Mexican govern-
ment that allows a small amount of
egg collecting of other species says
"No" to collecting ridley eggs. So
threatened are they that the Fish
and Wildlife Service and the Na-
tional Marine Fisheries Service have
started a head -start program. They
transfer under strict, sterile condi-
tions ridley eggs from Mexico to a
new nesting sit on an island off Texas
run by the National Park Service.
No longer can we say "So what's
one turtle ?" for that one turtle we
turn our back on might be the female
that would have produced 300 eggs
or more which might just be the one
to tip the scale and make the differ-
Focus on
Nature
ence in the survival of this smallest
of sea turtles.
In Search of Turtles
After Barbara and I read the
wanted poster it seemed like a good
idea to try helping this most worthy
cause by walking one of the beaches
nearby in hopes of finding a stranded
turtle. We picked one of those won-
derful fall days we've been having
lately and headed out. We went to
Duck Pond in Cutchogue and
walked to the west. My, how that
beach has moved. I know from diving
in the Sound after a storm the bot-
toms change drastically, for I could
measure the sand level on the side of
rocks, but you don't have to dive to
see the changes along our beaches.
I remember a year or so ago when
the banks were cut back at the bot-
tom by a storm more than ten feet
in many places. The sheer cut with
time has now worked its way up the
bank and has noticeably started cut-
ting the banks completely back. This
is a natural occurrence and one that
has been going on for centuries. Once
the bank has regained its natural
slope, it will hold fast until another
storm cuts away at its bottom again.
This natural phenomnenon coupled
with the ever - rising sea level make
our chores a questionable place to
build. Any time man attempts to
hold back the sea, it proves a costly
and oftentimes hopeless venture.
The day and the walk couldn't
have been nicer. We saw a small
flock of yellow - rumped warblers
feeding and cavorting about in the
bayberry and hightide bushes that
desperately cling to the side of the
banks, trying to hold back what they
can. The usual herring gulls and oc-
casional black- backed gulls patrolled
the beaches while a large flock of
gulls sat on the water offshore to the
east. I wondered if they had been
feeding on small fry driven up to the
surface by blues or stripers reported
along the Sound. Often the gulls sit
on the water and wait until a school
comes through and then off they go
to where the water boils with thrash-
ing fish, which means easy picking
for them.
Turtles at Okeanos
We saw no turtles but decided to
follow up by later meeting with Sam
Sadove and some of his staff at their
Hampton Bays office. We were im-
pressed with the busy office and at-
tractive surroundings. After a long
talk about turtles and their problems
and how their volunteers are trying
to cover all of our beaches, we went
with Rachel Yellin to see the Kemp's
ridley and the green turtle recently
broughtin.
The green turtle is the one used
and exploited by the commercial
market and usually winds up in tur-
tle soup. It had a deep wound on its
shell that looked very much as if it
had been made by a propeller. This
turtle is going to Dr. Zitek, our
wildlife veterinarian, for surgery
within a few days. Hopefully the
wound will be taken care of through
new techniques using fiberglass and
fillers.
Last year the heaviest concentra-
The Suffolk Times /November 26, 1987 /Page 9A
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE - -This smallest of our sea turtles some-
times is found along our shores this time of year because of the cold
weather. Any sightings of this very endangered turtle should be re-
ported to Okeanos Ocean Research Foundation (728- 8013).
tions of the Kemp's ridley turtles
were found along the North Shore
beaches of Long Island Sound. The
purpose of keeping them in the tank,
we were told, was to slowly bring the
temperature up from the cold of out-
side to a more normal living temper-
ature. Drastic changes could kill and
so when a turtle is found it's best to
keep it cool and report it im-
mediately to Okeanos in Hampton
Bays (728- 8013).
The people at Okeanos think that
the colds snap we had last week with
our first glimpse of winter's snow
played its part in cooling down the
water, bringing the turtles ashore.
With only cold weather ahead we can
expect many turtle sightings along
our beaches and a volunteer group of
beach walkers is necessary. Anyone
who would like to patrol a section of
beach once or twice a week would be
appreciated. You are encouraged to
contact Rachel Yellin at the Okeanos
headquarters.
Walk through Santa's 40
Acres and pick your Live
Christmas Tree. You choose
it and you or we cut it.
Santa's Barn converts to a Wreath
Making Workshop. Watch Santa's
Helpers make 8" to 6' Wreaths
from fresh greens.
Thousands of Christmas Trees, Poinsettias,
Wreaths and Miles of Roping and Ribbon
for the Best Selection Anywhere.
Santa's is the only full time operating
Christmas Tree Farm on Long Island.
HOURS: 9 AM - 5 PM - 7 DAYS • Thursday & Friday until 8 p.m.
RTE. 25 (MAIN RD.)
CUTCHOGUE, N.Y. 11935 (516) 734 -7627
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