Sea turtle found dead on Jupiter Island
A dead female loggerhead sea turtle was found Saturday, marking yet another victim of boat strikes this nesting season.
A dead female loggerhead sea turtle was found Saturday on Jupiter Island, marking yet another victim of boat strikes this nesting season.
Boats have injured 18 sea turtles in the northern Palm Beach County area since March 1, according to Cassidy Sparks, marketing and social media coordinator for Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. Some tur- tles were found dead and others were taken into the center as patients. Only three survived.
The latest victim was found by Jupiter resident Evan Davis, who was on his way to spend a sunny morning near the water when he saw an unusual, and “unfor- tunate,” sight among the mangroves near Coral Cove Park. The turtle sat unmoving under the shade of hanging mangrove roots.
To Davis, the signs were obvious: four deep strikes had cracked open the sea turtle’s carapace like a walnut. It’s unclear whether she was hit in the Atlantic Ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway, but propellers from a boat were to blame.
The loggerhead sea turtle was buried Sunday in an undisclosed location, Sparks told The Palm Beach Post in an email.
This year, the center has been notified of 47 stranded individuals, meaning the sea turtle is either dead, injured or sick, she said.
More recently, a leather
back sea turtle had to be euthanized in May after being
found with five boat propeller gashes that cut through its spinal cord.
“She was in pretty bad shape from the boat strike but since she was (an) adult female it is likely she was
close to land to either mate or nest especially during these months,” Sparks said.
LMC says boaters should obey channel markers and posted speeds. If sea turtles are spotted in the area, the engine should be placed in neutral and boaters should stay at least 150 feet away from sea life.
Having seen boats, sometimes speeding, last weekend, Davis said he felt there isn’t much of a chance for animals that call the water home.
“It’s pretty likely any type of wildlife is going to be in trouble,” he said.