Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CARETTA RESEARCH PROJECT
protect loggerhead sea turtles
WASSAW NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE, GEORGIA
For most of the wild things on Earth, the future must depend upon the con-
science of mankind.
—Archie Carr, scientist and author who almost single-handedly turned the
tide on the extinction of sea turtles
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The dinosaurs didn't make it. But giant sea turtles, which have survived for 175 million
years, still have a fighting chance, even though they're endangered. The days when hunters
nearly killed them off are mostly in the past, but today high-rise condominiums are taking over
their nesting grounds and the mammoth sea turtles are laying eggs on shaky ground.
Since 1978,
Caretta caretta
—better known as the loggerhead turtle—which nests largely
in the southeastern United States, has been on the threatened species list. Their numbers have
been in steep decline since humans began vacationing on their nesting grounds. The good news
is that, even before the Federal Endangered Species Act added the loggerheads to the list, the
Caretta Research Project on Wassaw Island, one of Georgia's many barrier islands, has been
tagging them and doing their best to protect the vulnerable creatures.
And that's where you come in. Between May and September, the research facility invites
volunteers to Wassaw Island to help scientists patrol the beach. Each week, six volunteers
come to tag and measure female turtles as they emerge from the sea to lay their eggs, move
the nests if they're too close to the tide line, and protect them from raccoons, feral hogs, and
other predators. Volunteers even cheer on the tiny 2-inch hatchlings when they finally peck
their way out of their shells 60 days after mom deposits her eggs in the sand.
ADOPT A TURTLE
If you can't make it to Wassaw Island, consider adopting a loggerhead sea turtle, nest,
or hatchling. During the summer, you can even log onto the Caretta Research Project
