Nesting intoSummer

Volunteers Play Important Role In Protecting Kemp’s Ridleys Sea Turtles

STORY BY WENDY KNIGHT | PHOTOS COURTESY OF SEA TURTLE INC.

As we enter summer in the Rio Grande Valley we think of sand, sun and sea … turtles. A trip to South Padre Island would not be complete without a visit to Sea Turtle Inc. and a look at the amazing efforts taking place there to protect the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.

Sea Turtle Inc. has been a staple of the Valley for 45 years. Founded in 1977, the nonprofit organization is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing sea turtles right on South Padre Island and Boca Chica beaches.

Nesting season runs from mid-April to early September each year, and the tone of this year’s nesting season is excitement and anticipation.

“Last year’s nesting season was the largest nesting season in the history for South Padre Island and Sea Turtle Inc.,” says the group’s chief executive officer Wendy Knight. “With over 100 nesting females protected and more than 10,000 hatching eggs safeguarded last year, we are ramped up and ready for another busy nesting season.”

South Padre Island and Boca Chica beaches are the nesting grounds for these most critically endangered species, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. The small staff at Sea Turtle Inc. along with a strong volunteer force, patrols more than 7,400 miles per season up and down the beaches to watch for and protect nesting or injured sea turtles. The community is a huge part of this work as many of the nesting females are spotted and called in by vacationers and residents who are out enjoying the beaches.

Did You Know?

• In the last 10 years Sea Turtle Inc. has safeguarded more than 71,000 hatching eggs.

• In February 2021 Sea Turtle Inc. treated more than 5,500 cold stunned sea turtles in the largest event of this kind in recorded history.

• The Kemp’s ridley is the only sea turtle that nests during the daytime.

• A single nesting female can return to nest two to three times a season and can lay 80 to 120 eggs in each nest.

• Sea turtle patients stay in the hospital 75 days on average before they are released back into the ocean.

• There are seven species of sea turtles, and all seven are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

What You Can Do to Help

• If you see an injured or nesting sea turtle, call Sea Turtle Inc. immediately at 956-243-4361.

• You may contribute to the cost of medical care, food, vitamins and surgery for the turtles by donating at seaturtleinc.org.

• You may ceremonially adopt a nest or hatchling to help offset the costs and expenses related to nesting season; go to seaturtleinc.org and click on Ways to Help.

• You may enjoy unlimited admission and private info on releases by becoming a Sea Turtle Inc. member. At the Sea Turtle Inc. site, there is an education center, museum, gift shop and boardwalk where visitors can enjoy the beautiful waterways of the Laguna Madre.

“We take over 800 calls a year on our emergency response phone with reports of injured sea turtles or nesting sea turtles. These calls are critical to us and allow us to have the maximum impact on conservation on our beaches by having the community help keep a watchful eye,” says Knight.

John Spreen has been a volunteer since 2018. Being a Sea Turtle Inc. ambassador, he says, is an experience that he will always treasure, but being a nesting patrol volunteer is the ultimate achievement of volunteerism.

“When I turn left on the sand to head north and the sun is opening a new day over the Gulf of Mexico, my eyes focus on the beach looking for the tracks of the Momma Kemp’s that will lead to her disguised nest and clutch of eggs to be gathered and protected by our ultra-qualified conservation team. This is livin’ the dream for me,” says Spreen.

As the summer moves forward, Sea Turtle Inc. hosts public releases so the community can see and experience thousands of small sea turtles returning to the ocean at sunrise. Most babies hatch during the last week of June and the first week of July.

This one-of-a-kind experience is broadcast privately to Sea Turtle Inc. members first, and then is posted on social media by 6 a.m. the morning of the public release.

“Our members get a text message in the early morning hours if a nest hatches early enough to allow a public release. Members play a critical part in funding the work we do here at Sea Turtle Inc., and private text messages are just one of the many benefits being a member has,” says Knight.

Sea Turtle Inc. also operates a sea turtle hospital on the island, which is open to the public. For the price of admission, visitors may not only see the current patients, but they also can hear about the medical care and treatment underway and visit the resident sea turtles that live on site with the organization.

Wendy