VERO BEACH, Fla. – On your mark… get set… GO!
The 16th annual Tour de Turtles officially kicked off at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort Saturday morning.
The event allows guests staying at the beachside resort to see the moment two large sea turtles are released back into the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
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Disney partners with the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC), one of the oldest sea turtle conservation groups in the world, to bring the event to dozens of hotel guests and locals. Hitched with satellite transponders on their shells, each sea turtle pings back data showing just how far they swim during the migration season. Disney said that not only does the special moment raise awareness about sea turtle conservation, but also provides researchers with critical data to further protect the animals.
“Disney’s commitment to sea turtle conservation in Vero Beach spans 20 years, and we are very proud to have recently watched our 1.5 millionth sea turtle hatchling leave the nest and shuffle its way to the ocean,” said Mark Penning, vice president of Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment.
“We’re learning a lot of valuable information about where they spend their time so that we can protect the ocean environments they occupy, and not just afford them the same protections on the nesting beaches,” said Rachel Smith, Disney Conservation manager.
With it being Disney, each sea turtle could be considered a shell-ebrity when it comes to their names.
This year’s turtles — in honor of the release of Disney’s all-new live-action film, “The Haunted Mansion” — sported the names Madame Leota and Harriet.
Tour de Turtles is happening during a historic year for the reptiles along the Florida coastline. Disney said its teams along the coast are seeing a huge influx in the number of nests of both loggerhead and green sea turtles – two turtles that are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
“Our team at Disney Conservation, we monitor a five-mile stretch of beach just outside Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in Indian River County, and in those five miles our team has recorded over 2,200 sea turtle nests so far this year, and the previous record for our team is in the 1,600′s for the entire season,” Smith said. “So, we are well ahead of where we’ve ever been! We’re in uncharted territory.”
This week, Disney said loggerhead sea turtles broke a record in terms of new nests, just weeks after green sea turtles swam their way to a similar feat. Disney said its team and several other conservation groups are evaluating the potential environmental factors helping drive the spike in nests being found up and down the state.
“It’s probably a lot of contributing factors, but I think it’s fair to say that we can credit the long-term conservation efforts of so many different organizations that have been working collaboratively on sea turtle conservation efforts for so long,” Smith said.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife experts said it takes 25 to 30 years for a sea turtle to reach maturity and return to lay their own eggs after hatching, and this year could be the second generation of turtles that are making a comeback since the conservation protections started 50 years ago.
“It’s really an exciting time for sea turtle conservationists and everyone who loves sea turtles,” Smith said.
Hatchlings generally emerge from their nests through the summer and early fall months.
Some of the biggest threats sea turtles face in the wild right now include plastic pollution, along with artificial light pollution from coastal development. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, disorientation from artificial lighting causes thousands of hatchling deaths each year in Florida and is a significant marine turtle conservation problem.
“I think for a lot of the threats that sea turtles face, they can be solved by changes in individual behavior,” Smith said. “There’s so many different things that we can do to help sea turtles.”
The Tour de Turtles will officially kickoff on Aug. 1.
To learn more and follow the turtles’ migration, visit the Tour de Turtles website at tourdeturtles.org.
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