Gulfarium educates guests on sea turtles with 'C.A.R.E.'ing for Turtles program

OKALOOSA ISLAND — As surfers rode Gulf of Mexico waves and beachgoers strolled on the shore of white sand, 15 people absorbed numerous lessons on sea turtles late Wednesday afternoon at the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. (Conserve, Act, Rehabilitate, Educate) Center.

Threats to sea turtles, efforts to rescue and rehabilitate ones that are left stranded with injuries or illnesses and how mother turtles create their nests on the beach were among the many issues the visitors learned about at the C.A.R.E. Center.

Wednesday's hour-long educational event marked the second “C.A.R.E.”ing for Turtles program, which began in January and teaches guests about the operations of the rehabilitation center and the importance of preserving endangered sea turtle species.

The program is a partnership between the center and the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department.

Since being developed in 2015, the C.A.R.E. Center at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park on Okaloosa Island has rehabilitated and released hundreds of sea turtles back into the Gulf.

Turtle release from 2021:Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center releases six sea turtles at Henderson Beach State Park

Loggerheads, greens, Kemp’s ridleys and leatherbacks — four of the seven species of sea turtles — are the types that have most often been helped by the center over the years.

Loggerheads and greens are the types that usually nest on Emerald Coast beaches from May through October. County officials typically record about two dozen sea turtle nests on local beaches each season.

A part of Wednesday’s program focused on the ongoing care of several sea turtle “patients,” which swam in large pools of Gulf water maintained at 75 degrees while they recover from injuries or ailments.

Some of the turtles were rescued from area beaches by C.A.R.E. Center staff, which helps rescue turtles between Mobile, Alabama, and Panama City.

One of the turtle patients introduced at Wednesday’s program was a female loggerhead named Jamie that came to the center last November. She had been found near the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier with two fishing hooks stuck in her esophagus.

Jamie, who weighs 168 pounds, had the hooks surgically removed the day after she was brought to the center and might be able to be returned to the Gulf in a couple months, C.A.R.E. Center stranding coordinator Tabitha Siegfried said.

More:Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center releases 8 cold-stunned turtles in Cape San Blas

While the massive Jamie swam in her own pool, 15 much smaller Kemp's ridley sea turtles moved through water in nearby pools. Each Kemp's ridley was brought to the center last December from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, after getting pneumonia and having their metabolism slowed from “cold stunning,” a sudden, steep drop in water temperature.

Sixteen Kemp's ridleys were brought to the center for treatment. One didn’t survive, but the other 15 should be released in a couple weeks, Siegfried said.

She said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials decide where each rehabilitated turtle is released into the Gulf.

The guests at Wednesday’s program also participated in a mock turtle intake, in which they used sea turtle-shaped models to learn how to measure a turtle’s carapace, or the larger, rounder part of its shell, to help determine its age.

They also checked whether the model had a metal identification tag given by a rescue or research organization and whether there were obvious signs of injury, and they examined turtle X-rays that can reveal problems that are not obvious.

After showing an X-ray that revealed the hooks in Jamie the loggerhead, Siegfried asked the group what they would do to help the turtle.

“Call the vet,” program participant Barbara Miller of Destin said while others nodded in agreement.

The last part of Wednesday’s “C.A.R.E.”ing for Turtles program featured county Coastal Resource Coordinator Jessica Valek showing a simulated sea turtle nest while describing the nesting process along the Gulf Coast.

Valek said mother sea turtles will crawl onto a local beach at night while leaving tire-like tracks in the sand to build their nests. They’ll use their back flippers to dig their deep egg chamber, which Valek said resembles an upside-down light bulb.

After depositing its eggs, which can number more than 100 per nest, the mom turtle will use her rear flippers again to bury the chamber and hopefully keep it safe from predators such as coyotes and raccoons.

Valek said county staff patrols local beaches very early each morning during the nesting season to find and mark nests with sticks, tape and signs, and then to monitor the nests.

After a couple months, the turtles will hatch, usually at night, and make their way out of the nest to the Gulf. That is, if they’re not picked off by birds or other animals and are not disoriented by artificial white lights that they can confuse with the moon’s reflection on the water, Valek said.

Other obstacles to mother turtles and hatchlings alike include trash, beach chairs, umbrellas and toys left on the beach, holes dug in the sand and even sandcastles, she added.

As if that wasn’t enough, hungry hatchlings seeking a bite to eat in the Gulf often chomp into discarded plastic bottles and ingest pieces that harm them, Valek said.

Because of predators and various human-caused threats on land and in the sea, only one in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood, or when they reach 20-25 years old, Valek noted.

“That’s why we do what we do to protect them,” she said.

The next “C.A.R.E.”ing for Turtles programs are set for March 9 and March 23. The exact starting times for the programs on those dates were not available at press time.

 Additional programs might be held through the summer.

Admission to each event is $10, and each encounter is limited to 15 guests.

To learn more or to reserve a spot at the next program, visit www.gulfarium.com/careingforturtles.