Florida Keys webcam records turtle hatchings

A live streaming “turtle webcam” recorded baby loggerhead turtles emerging from their nest and crawling to the ocean on a beach in the lower Florida Keys.

The recorded footage of the hatching premiered on the Florida Keys Web site last week at fla-keys.com/turtlecam.

The live streaming webcam was focused on three different loggerhead nests since mid-August that were scheduled to hatch at different times. It was equipped with infrared emitters to render an image, but avoid disturbing turtles.

The first nest did not produce a hatch, while the second did, but a technical problem prevented recording.

Loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nest on beaches in the Florida Keys or inhabit regional waters. All five species are considered threatened or endangered.

Early spring through early fall each year, turtles crawl ashore at night to dig nests and lay about 100 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs per nest. After covering them with sand, the turtles return to the water. Approximately two months later, hatchlings emerge and seek the water.

Any artificial light can disturb and disorient the turtles, interrupting the natural process. Laws prohibit people from touching or disturbing hatchlings, nests and nesting turtles.

Placement of the webcam was approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Funded by the Florida Keys tourism council, the camera is part of a longstanding Keys effort to raise awareness of sea turtles, their needs and specifically Save-a-Turtle and Marathon’s Turtle Hospital, two Keys-based organisations that have worked to protect and care for the region’s marine turtles and their habitat.