{"id":5210,"date":"2001-05-17T18:34:30","date_gmt":"2001-05-17T23:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=5210"},"modified":"2010-03-10T18:51:30","modified_gmt":"2010-03-10T23:51:30","slug":"miracle-on-round-island-%e2%80%94-17-may-2001","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=5210","title":{"rendered":"Miracle on Round Island \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 17 May 2001"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"05-17-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Over-Wintered Terrapin Nest Subject to Root Depredation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a tough few days.\u00c2\u00a0 The number of nests explored by predators and found containing desiccated remains has continued to climb.\u00c2\u00a0 Six more in the last three days, accounting for another 75 dead hatchlings.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the turtles had pipped, presumably in the fall, but remained in their split shells and underground over the long, cold winter.<\/p>\n

\"05-17-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Over-Wintered Terrapin Hatchling Smothered by Roots<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The nests I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve excavated since Tuesday been heavily invaded by vegetation.\u00c2\u00a0 The eggs and hatchlings were penetrated and had been preyed upon by roots, perhaps to exploit their moisture during this springtime drought.\u00c2\u00a0 The last nest I discovered today, over on Round Island in the midst of Lieutenant Island\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nursery marsh, held 16 eggs.\u00c2\u00a0 At the top of the nest chamber, hatchlings were smothered in roots.<\/p>\n

\"05-17-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Over-Wintered Terrapin Hatchling Deformed by Roots<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As I gently explored the walls of the nest with my fingertips, I found a turtle outside it egg shell and severely deformed on its right side \u00e2\u20ac\u201d as though roots had constricted its growth.\u00c2\u00a0 Her eyes were closed and I thought I had uncovered the sixteenth dead hatchling.\u00c2\u00a0 But to my utter astonishment, as I lifted her from the nest, she moved her forelimbs to rub her eyes.<\/p>\n

\"05-17-4-5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0Terrapin Hatchling Survives Coyote and Root Depredation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is an incredible miracle<\/em><\/strong> that, at only 2.75 centimeters long and weighing just 6 grams, she survived predation (both root and coyote), dehydration, and deformation.\u00c2\u00a0 What a zest for life!\u00c2\u00a0 We dubbed her \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Knotch\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and brought her back to the lab to improve her chances of survival \u00e2\u20ac\u201d as though she needs our help.<\/p>\n

\"05-17-6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0Rescued Deformed Hatchling Responds to Hydration and Heat<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After soaking in fresh water and warming under a heat lamp in my makeshift lab, Knotch became fully active without showing the slightest effect of her deformity.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll hold her until the weather returns to seasonal and then release her back into the Lieutenant Island marsh.<\/p>\n

\"05-17-7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

AmeriCorps Volunteers Capture Female Terrapin #1070 in Blackfish Creek<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To top off a miracle day, AmeriCorps volunteers, working on the horseshoe crab research project in Blackfish Creek, were surprised by a terrapin pair swimming by them.\u00c2\u00a0 They ploshed after the male, but he deftly maneuvered into deeper water.\u00c2\u00a0 The 11-year-old mature female, weighing just over a kilo, was snagged by Katie.\u00c2\u00a0 Not seen previously, she now sports the marking #1070<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over-Wintered Terrapin Nest Subject to Root Depredation It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a tough few days.\u00c2\u00a0 The number of nests explored by predators and found containing desiccated remains has continued to climb.\u00c2\u00a0 Six more in the last three days, accounting for another 75 dead hatchlings.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of the turtles had pipped, presumably in the fall, but remained in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5210"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5210"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5223,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5210\/revisions\/5223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}