Dozens of loggerhead sea turtles hatch on Florida’s Anna Maria Island as crowd watches
Beachgoers watched the miracle of life on Anna Maria Island as dozens of baby sea turtles hatched and made their way into the Gulf of Mexico.
Just after sunset on Monday evening, a group of people at Manatee Public Beach began gathering around a marked sea turtle nest. They looked on as the tiny loggerhead sea turtles emerged from the sand and moved toward the water.
Witnessing a sea turtle’s first trek into the water is an unusual sighting. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the eggs incubate in the sand for about two months before the hatchlings all dig up to the surface, which can take several days.
Reached for comment Tuesday morning, Stephannie Kettle, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s director of marketing and public relations, urged beachgoers to maintain their distance from baby sea turtles.
“People need to maintain plenty of distance, even when it’s a fascinating thing to see,” Kettle wrote in an email to the Bradenton Herald. “It would also be good to stay as quiet as possible.”
Mote recommends watching from afar and keeping the beach free of trash that might impede a baby sea turtle’s path into the water. The Florida Aquarium notes that loggerhead turtles are a protected species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Even after they grow up, these sea turtles will always call Anna Maria Island home. Hatchlings remember where they were born and will return to the same place to lay their own eggs, FWC says.
Sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 to Oct. 31.
