Blog Post By: Ashlyn, Sea Turtle Intern
So far in this year’s turtle nesting season, loggerhead turtle momma’s have made their way onto our State Park Beach to nest above the Spring High Tide Line. But how are we able to tell that it is in fact loggerhead turtles crawling up on our beach, and not another sea turtle species? Each species of sea turtles that crawls up on a beach has a unique and identifiable track pattern left on the sand. Loggerhead turtles crawl by alternating their flippers, leaving behind staggered comma or “V”-shaped indentations in the sand. That “V” indentation is also an indicator of the direction of the crawl, with the tip pointing towards the direction the turtle came from. The loggerhead crawl additionally has a wavy and smoothed track center, with no defined tail-drag marks. Kemp’s Ridley Turtles are much smaller in size in comparison to loggerheads, and the same can be said about their crawl patterns. Like loggerheads, they have an alternating comma-shaped flipper indentation left behind with a wavy smooth track center. The best indication that a Kemp’s Ridley left the crawl tracks versus a loggerhead is the smaller, more compact size of the flipper marks. Green Turtles crawl as if using a swimmer’s butterfly-stroke, leaving behind parallel flipper marks on the sand. The track center of the crawl is ridged, and a punctuated tail-drag can often be observed. Leatherback turtles are often easily distinguishable from other species simply due to their massive size (the total track width is around 6 to 7 feet!). Similarly to the Green turtle, the Leatherback uses a parallel flipper motion to move, and a punctuated tail-drag can be observed. It is often joked that if it looks like a tractor drove out of the ocean, you are probably looking at a Leatherback turtle’s tracks! Every morning that we go out we are eager to spot any new or rare (to our beach!) species of sea turtles have crawled up on the beach by looking out for unique track patterns. But until that morning where we find a new crawl, we will continue to be excited for each Loggerhead track we see!
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Leah SchwartzentruberSea Turtle Biologist Archives
September 2023
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