Turtle Journal

 Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle at Rider’s Beach in Truro

 Temperatures dipped below 30 under Arctic crisp skies.  Northwest winds blowing 10 to 15 mph focused our sea turtle patrols on south Eastham, Orleans and Brewster, the inside arc of the elbow.  Twenty miles to the north the Pilgrim Monument, decked in Christmas white lights, marked the Cape’s fist across an inky black bay in Provincetown.

This afternoon the 10th Kemp’s ridley was recovered, dead, from Rider’s Beach in south Truro.  This first Arctic blast with plunging water temperatures bodes ill for any ridleys remaining in Cape Cod Bay.  Even the bulkier loggerheads will begin cold-stranding as winter takes hold at the end of the universe.  So, it’s imperative to rescue these turtles as soon as they wash ashore, to prevent death from hypothermia — all of which translates to night patrols.

Don Lewis Examines Dead Seal on Brewster Beach

Tonight’s high tide came a little before 10 P.M. and our first find was another dead seal beached between Point of Rocks and Breakwater in Brewster.

Dead Gannet at Skaket Beach in Orleans

At Skaket Beach in Orleans, a gannet had floated in with the tide.  These pelagic dive bombers drop from dizzying heights to fish the Cape’s waters.  Sometimes, though, they hit at a bad angle or pick a spot just too shallow for their Olympian dives, and necks break from the strain.

Kemp’s Ridley Washes Ashore at Crosby Landing

At Crosby Landing, the 11th ridley of the season was found washing ashore with the tide.  Retrieved from breaking surf, she seemed stone cold to the touch.  Back at the Sanctuary this tiny ridley of just 21.5 cm carapace length and 1.5 kilograms weight registered an internal body temperature of only 33.8 degrees.  Her eyes were dehydrated and fixed and it was impossible to determine whether she was, in fact, still alive. 

Barnacle Embedded in Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Plastron

Nevertheless, cleaned and lubricated, she was placed in the cold recovery room at ~ 42 degrees to begin the long thawing process.  Adding to her challenges, we discovered on her underside a large barnacle embedded in her plastron.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling’s Thanksgiving Feast

Night Sea Turtle Patrol

Ellis Landing, Brewster; temperature 37°F, wind 21 mph from the west, wind chill 14.

Fox Island Wildlife Management Area

Acres of tall marsh grass still mask the extent of this year’s terrapin die-off in the Fox Island Wildlife Management Area.  The improbability of finding dead turtles trapped in these thickets will remain astronomically high until winter storms and ice floes scythe the field.

Young Dead Female Terrapin Found in High Grass

Yet we were able this morning to spot the plastron of a young female, barely visible through dying grass stalks at the east edge of Field Point.

Don Lewis Bags Recovered Terrapin Carcass

Encouraged by this find, we waded deeper into the marsh only to back off when Rags plopped into a quick-mud creek channel disguised by the dense vegetation.  Better to retreat with honor and limbs intact to return another day.

Don Lewis Documents Impact of Terrapin Deaths

The remains proved to be a prepubescent 8-year-old female — a significant loss to the Wellfleet population.  Maybe a year short of sexual maturity, she had escaped the many and obvious threats to survival since her birth in the early 90s.  She had avoided nest predation, which reaches more than 90 percent.  She evaded predators stalking hatchlings as they emerge and race for the tidal marsh.  She survived infancy when her tiny size represented a tasty morsel to a host of marsh critters.  She lived through eight harsh winters, burrowed under black ooze for seven months of the year.  At her current size and age, she had outgrown nearly every predator and threat.  And now she was about to enter the most important and productive phase for the health of the terrapin population.  Because turtles are such long-lived and slow-growing animals, mature females are the critical lynchpin in terrapin survival.  Researchers have estimated that it takes a female turtle nearly 10 years of full sexual production to lay enough eggs to simply replace herself.  We can’t afford to lose many turtles such as this one.

Live “Dead” Kemp’s Ridley Rescued from Eastham Beach

This morning a beach walker discovered a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle north of Kingsbury Beach in Eastham.  Showing no obvious signs of life, the turtle was left exposed on a washed-ashore tire.  Hours later, the discoverer phoned the Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary to report finding “a dead turtle.”

Don Lewis Examines Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley

Cold-stunned and now further chilled and dehydrated from exposure, this plucky juvenile still clung to life.  At only 9.5 inches long and less than 5 pounds, she had lost considerable body heat, registering an internal temperature of only 52°F, and she had sustained some nasty cuts and abrasions as she was driven helplessly ashore.

Kemp’s Ridley Stabilized for Emergency Trip to Boston

Her partly opened eyes, which displayed no movement, were cleaned and dowsed in a protective ointment.  Her nose had been bruised and bloodied in beaching, as had the side of her head, underneath her neck, and the nail area of her left rear flipper.  But to enhance her chance of survival, after a rocky start on the beach, we immediately rushed her to the New England Aquarium, where her injuries and hypothermic condition could be more aggressively treated.

Turtle “Hand-Off” at Sagamore Bridge

The handoff took place at the Sagamore Bridge rotary, mid-way between Boston’s New England Aquarium and Wellfleet Bay at the end of the universe.  The fifth Kemp’s ridley of the season sped off with NEAQ’s Marine Animal Rescue, along with our hopes and prayers for her recovery.  The important lesson for everyone associated with strandings is treat every beached critter as alive.  When dealing with the rarest and most endangered sea turtle in the world, always err on the side of life.