September 8, 2020
We are not usually in Fort Myers, where the Coquina vacation home is located, at this time of year, but I’m already wishing we were there.
I enjoy spring and fall in Indiana, and right now the heat and humidity in Southwestern Florida are oppressive. However, if I don’t go there from spring to fall, I am missing out on some annual milestones: Snowy plover nesting season; sea turtle nesting season; and hurricanes—which bring excellent shelling and vagrant bird species to the islands and refuges in the area.
I’ve been watching with great interest the Facebook posts and pictures, of both turtle hatchlings and uncommon bird sightings. Who wouldn’t like the videos of itty bitty sea turtles, flapping their itty bitty flippers feverishly, as they emerge from a nest deep in the sand, making a fast (for them) break across the beach into the salty waves?
This year, I read, has been a record year for the number of loggerhead turtle nests on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva Islands. This is normally the slow tourist season there; thanks to the Corona virus pandemic, the beaches have been even less visited, which is believed to have contributed to the turtles’ prolific propagation this year. In a way, this is a positive side effect, I thought. Give the wildlife more room and less interference from humans.
But of course, people—or more likely, just one or two Machiavellian individuals—could not leave well enough alone. On July 26th, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), which took over an existing turtle monitoring program in 1992, discovered that five turtle nests on Captiva had been run over by some kind of vehicle and the marking stakes had been damaged. SCCF immediately reported the incident to the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC). On the morning of July 29th, SCCF’s Sea Turtle Hotline received two calls reporting damage to a sixth nest, where stakes were removed and thrown into the dune and the nest was “likely” driven over. Tire tracks showing a deep tread were left at the scenes, and the tracks appeared to have been made by a golf cart or similar vehicle. SCCF will not know the extent of the damage caused to the turtle eggs until the nests have hatched and been inventoried.
All five species of Florida’s sea turtles are classified as endangered or threatened, so it is illegal to harm, harass, or kill any sea turtles, their eggs, or their hatchlings. Operating a motor vehicle on any Captiva beach without a permit is also illegal. Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate the crimes. According to ABC7 Southwest Florida, officers checking a golf cart at a rental home on Captiva Drive on Thursday, August 6th, eventually removed the golf cart from the property.
Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before this leads to an arrest. I will post updates as I learn them.
