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12March
First Turtle Nest of the Season at Cayman Turtle Centre Cayman Turtle Centre is celebrating the first turtle nest of the season. In the wild, Green sea turtle nesting season in the Cayman Islands usually doesn’t begin until late April, so the new nest, at the beginning of March, is a great sign that the conditions in the big Breeder Pond are just right for turtles. The 281 mature adult turtles in the Breeding Pond were given a health check during the recent annual breeder turtle survey and were reported as doing very well, with all of the turtles in tip-top health.
“It looks as if it’s going to be another great year for turtle eggs,” said the Centre’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Adam. “That means a great year for turtle conservation too, because many of the eggs that will be laid here will become hatchlings for our release programme,” Mr. Adam continued. “A recent study by the University of Barcelona with the Cayman Island Department of Environment has shown that our release programme has made a huge contribution to the massive increase in wild turtle numbers around the Cayman Islands, from just a few nests 20 years ago to more than 600 today,” continued Mr. Adam. The same study found that ninety percent of green turtles nesting in the wild in Cayman are related to the turtles at the Centre.
Each year the huge breeder turtles, some of which have been with the Cayman Turtle Centre ever since its inception, mate and at nightfall, lay their eggs on the sandy ‘beach’ area at the side of a pond that is nearly half the size of a football pitch. Those eggs are laid in clutches of 100 to 150 at the bottom of deep holes that each female digs in the sand before covering them over. The eggs are then carefully removed at night by the Centre’s crew members, and taken to the Hatchery in the Education Centre. The eggs are kept in an optimal environment to ensure that, when the turtle hatchlings emerge after two months, they are given the best possible start in life. In the Hatchery, visitors to the Centre have the thrill of watching some of the hatchlings emerge from their eggs, which are at the bottom of tall, sand-filled columns, which replicate the natural conditions of a nest on a sandy beach.
Mr. Adam said, “With the good start to nesting we are looking forward to a very active year of nest implantations and egg translocations on beach front accommodation properties. This is one of our green turtle release programmes. It is a way of introducing captive-bred green turtle eggs into the wild, by replicating, as carefully as possible, a real-life green sea turtle nest on the beaches of Grand Cayman.” The process involves taking a portion of the eggs from a clutch incubated in the Centre’s Hatchery until they are just a few days from hatching. These eggs are brought to a specially selected Grand Cayman beach to be placed in the nest which is created in the sand.
The public is able to sign up for live WhatsApp updates on when the turtle hatchlings are getting ready to emerge. At the first sighting of hatchlings at the top of the nest in the sand subscribers to the updates will be notified and then have the opportunity to a front row seat to the miracle of seeing hatchlings make their way into the wild. Mr. Adam finished by saying, “Imagine the memorable and awe-inspiring experience a visitor to the Cayman Islands will have, being able to see a real time hatchling turtle emergence from a nest on their visit. And of course, the conservation and education benefits are far reaching. Each person will tell other people and encourage them to protect turtle, and when you protect a keystone species such as turtles you protect entire ocean eco-systems.”
For more information, call the Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter on 345-949-3894, email us at info@turtle.ky, visit us online at www.turtle.ky or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CaymanTurtleCentre/.
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24AprilThe green sea turtle nesting season at the Cayman Turtle Centre has started early. The first turtle hatchlings for the season have hatched on Earth Day.
Earth Day at Cayman Turtle Centre Welcomes Seasons First Hatchlings The Green sea turtle nesting season at the Cayman Turtle Centre has started early. The Centre’s first turtle hatchlings for the season have made their appearance, emerging from a nest that was laid within the Centre at the end of February. “It is such a wonder when these small turtle hatchlings decide to show up from under the sand surface. We expect to see more turtle hatchlings come from this clutch over the next few days, and many more from the eggs in the incubation boxes already in our hatchery continuing till late September,” Mr Tim Adam, Chief Executive Officer for Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre said.
The Green sea turtle nesting season at the Cayman Turtle Centre has started early. The Centre’s first turtle hatchlings for the season have made their appearance, emerging from a nest that was laid within the Centre at the end of February. “It is such a wonder when these small turtle hatchlings decide to show up from under the sand surface. We expect to see more turtle hatchlings come from this clutch over the next few days, and many more from the eggs in the incubation boxes already in our hatchery continuing till late September,” Mr Tim Adam, Chief Executive Officer for Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre said.
One of the main conservation efforts at Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre is the augmentation of the wild sea turtle population through our captive breeding, rearing and release of Green turtles at various life-stages. Peer-reviewed published independent studies have shown that as a result of more than three decades of this programme, The Centre has contributed nearly all of 90% of the nesting Green turtles in Cayman and this is therefore one of the most direct and impactful ways that the Centre can locally contribute to the conservation of Green sea turtles. It also gives CTCEC excellent opportunities for educating residents and visitors about sea turtles and marine conservation in general.
“It is exciting to know that these hatchlings will be released into the wild in just about a year’s time. These will add to the almost 33,000 turtles that we have already released into the wild. The Cayman Turtle Centre is delighted to be a part of the solution for the growth and conservation efforts of the Green sea turtle population in the Caribbean. Recent studies proved through genetic analysis that 90% of the Green turtles nesting on the beaches of Cayman are genetically closely related to the turtles bred at the Centre and released into the wild. The reality is that these little hatchlings that have emerged here at the Centre will eventually go into the ocean as one or two year old turtles and have a good head-start with much better chances of surviving to adulthood. They’ll then come back 20 or more years later to nest on our beaches. That is so exciting” Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Mrs Renee Howell said.
“We are looking forward to re-opening the Centre soon where residents from the local community and eventually visitors to the Cayman Islands can see up close the turtle hatchlings in our hatchery, as well as the yearlings and older turtles in our encounters and exhibits. In the meantime though, it is important to the Cayman Islands and to our Company’s mission that we secure the safety and health of our crew and our visitors during the COVID-19 situation the world is facing. During this period, the many animals at the Centre have been receiving amazing care and nourishment from our essential crew members going to the Centre each day in separate shifts, observing social distancing and other precautionary protocols” Mr Adam said.
“It is expected that over the next few months, with the recovery from the pandemic crisis our island and our beaches will reopen for residents and visitors and soon we can release more turtles into the wild as part of private group sponsorships to help sustain our ongoing conservation efforts,” Mr Adam said.
To learn more about the Cayman Turtle Centre and turtle release sponsorship opportunities or to arrange an exciting experience at the Centre once it has re-opened following the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, please visit www.turtle.ky or follow our social media channels:
www.facebook.com/CaymanTurtleCentre
www.instagram.com/CaymanTurtleCentre and
www.twitter.com/CaymanTurtle -
07April
April 22nd is Earth Day and the Cayman Turtle Centre is taking the entire month to celebrate the Earth! In spite of COVID-19 measures mean the Centre has had to temporarily close its doors to the public, “Earth Month is just too important to miss in our line of work, and so we are inviting everyone to join in all the events we have planned, via social media,” said the Centre’s CEO, Tim Adam.
Cayman Turtle Centre – Earth Day Clean Up April 2019 “Taking care of the environment and our planet is always at the top of mind for the Centre and our crew, and we have dedicated the month of April to the Earth as a way to draw attention to the importance of issues surrounding conservation, which is at the heart of all the Centre does,” said the Centre’s Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Renee Howell. “We have several interesting activities planned this month which will happen on social media as they had to be adjusted due to the coronavirus situation. You will be able to participate on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media pages. So be sure to look out for details on how you can get involved and we hope you will share our posts to help spread the messages to affect change in a positive way!”
This year, the international Earth Month theme is Climate Action. Local organisations have banded together to form a Cayman Earth Day Committee to help highlight easy steps people can all take to make wiser use of planet Earth’s resources.
Partners for this project include Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre, Cayman Eco, Cayman Islands Tourism Association, Cayman Mangrove Association, Cayman Compass, Central Caribbean Marine Institute, Cayman Islands Department of Environment, National Trust for the Cayman Islands, Guy Harvey Foundation, Plastic Free Cayman, Ocean Frontiers, as well as Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
“Earth Day is important because safeguarding natural habitats is one of the most impactful ways of conserving the plants and animals that live on the Earth,” the Centre’s CEO, Tim Adam said. “In previous years we have participated in beach cleanups and other community events which demonstrate in practical ways that the Cayman Turtle Centre cares for Cayman’s environment. Sadly, this year we cannot organise any big public events, but we are nevertheless delighted to be able to carry on with several social media undertakings in which people can participate from all around the world, if they want, via our social media platforms,” Mr Adam continued.
Mrs. Howell said, “At the moment our essential staff is ensuring that the animals at our Centre continue to be well-fed and cared for during the COVID-19 situation. We are also contributing through Earth Month to encourage awareness of maintaining the integrity of our most precious jewel, Cayman’s natural environment, for future generations to cherish and enjoy. We are glad to be able to once again do our part to serve the people of the Cayman Islands.”
Teaching session with Shona at Cayman Turtle Centre The Centre’s Education Programmes Officer, Shona McGill said, “Part of our education programme throughout the year includes putting out a strong message about the importance of picking up plastic trash, which is very harmful to all kinds of wildlife. We also promote recycling. For Earth Month we carry on with these messages as well as getting people to think about their effect on the Earth and how they can positively affect Climate Change. We are inviting everyone, including school-age students to participate in our social media Earth Month activities. Be sure to tune into our Plant-a-tree day on April 22nd, via social media. For us, every day is Earth Day.”
Cayman Turtle Centre’s Curator of Educational Programmes and Terrestrial Exhibits, Geddes Hislop, said, “Cayman Turtle Centre is actively involved in the captive breeding of rare and endangered animals such as sea turtles, Cayman parrots, and White-crowned pigeons, each of which play a key role in maintaining their respective ecosystems. For example, Green turtles are known to maintain healthy reefs and seagrass beds, and White-crowned pigeons are important dispersers of seeds from a variety of forest trees as they fly from island to island throughout the Western Caribbean. The benefits gained from these programmes assist in promoting positive climate environments in our islands. One of our main Climate Change messages for Earth Month is for people to think about how their actions affect the environment and to look at ways to reduce their carbon footprint.”
Ms McGill added, “A good example is just simply by eating more veggies or by say designating Mondays as ‘Meatless Mondays’ in your household! By simply just decreasing the amount of meat you eat by 50%, you can have a huge impact on the planet. You can help decrease your own carbon footprint by over 40%! By making one quick and healthy change to your diet, you can help make the planet a healthier place too.”
Cayman Turtle Centre is inviting everyone to share in its special Tree Planting event for Earth Day, April 22 via social media. You can also join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get daily updates about Climate Change from us and our partner organisations, throughout April. Also, look out for our special Sea Turtle Education talk on 27th April, as well as interviews about our continuing conservation programs on local radio.
To participate and to get more information visit:
www.facebook.com/CaymanTurtleCentre
www.instagram.com/CaymanTurtleCentre
www.twitter.com/CaymanTurtle -
05MarchCayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter is thrilled with the latest news, that the total number of turtle nests in all three Cayman Islands is 675 for 2019 nesting season. The results show that it’s the highest number of nests in Grand Cayman (468) and the highest number of Green turtle nests (342) observed by the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DOE), as part of their annual turtle-nest survey, conducted with the help of a small army of dedicated volunteers.
“It is particularly good news and it confirms the continuing upward trend, from just a handful of nests when the DOE began its turtle surveys in 1998. It also confirms the success of the Cayman Turtle Centre’s release programme, which has released more than 32,000 captive bred Green turtles into the wild since the programme began in the early 1980’s,” Tim Adam, CEO of Cayman Turtle Centre, commented.
The link between the increasing numbers was confirmed by an independent scientific study, and accompanying report, published early in 2019. The report, entitled: ‘How many came home? Evaluating ex-situ conservation of Green Turtles in the Cayman Islands,’ and produced by the University of Barcelona in collaboration with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment and the University of Exeter, found that 90 percent of the nesting Green turtles in Cayman are genetically related to those released from the Cayman Turtle Centre.
When the DOE began monitoring the nests, in 1999, turtles had nearly become extinct in the Cayman Islands. That year there was one Green turtle nest recorded in Grand Cayman. It takes around 25 years or more for Green sea turtles to reach maturity, and come “home” to breed and lay their eggs on the beaches from which they were released. So the apparent time lag between the beginning of the releases in the early 1980s, and the dramatic increase in numbers from the late 1990s onward, is the expected timing based on their life cycle.
“We determined that 90 percent of the wild individuals were related to the captive stock. Our results suggest a strong impact of the reintroduction program on the present recovery of the wild green turtle population nesting in the Cayman Islands,” the peer reviewed report says.
Mr. Adam highlighted that “The remarkable increase in Grand Cayman to 229 Green turtle nests in 2017 followed by the huge upward jump to 342 Green turtle nests in 2019 is an unequivocal testament that the population augmentation programme for Green turtles by the Cayman Turtle Centre is a vital success factor in the recovery of the turtle population in Cayman.”
