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Sea Turtle Walks at The Marinelife Center of Juno Beach
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Marinelife Center of Juno Beach, 14200
U.S. Hwy. 1 Turtle walks to view nesting loggerhead sea turtles are conducted by the Marinelife Center of Juno Beach on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings in June and July. Reservations may be made beginning May 3 on a first-come basis. Reservations are taken for about 3 weeks, or until all the spaces for the entire summer are filled. There is a limit of 50 persons per watch, with no restrictions on age. Instead of miles, the walks cover about 300 yards of beach north or south of the center. There are that many turtles! About 5,000 loggerheads nest along the 6-mile stretch of beach the center monitors, so finding a turtle usually isn't too difficult. The fee is $5 per adult and $2.50 for children. Assemble at 9 p.m. at the center in Loggerhead Park, 14200 U.S. Hwy. 1, Juno Beach. If no turtle is sighted by 11:30 p.m., the watch is ended. You don't need to make a night walk to view sea turtles close-up. The Marinelife Center is the only turtle hospital between Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale that cares for sick or injured turtles. Once the turtles are rehabilitated, they are returned to the sea. The Marinelife Center is also very active in sea turtle research. It monitors the nesting from March 1st until October 31st along 5.4 miles of Juno Beach, one of the most densely nested sea turtle beaches in the U.S. Although most nesting turtles are loggerheads, leatherbacks, the giants of sea turtles, have shown up in greater numbers in recent years. Of special interest to sea turtle fans is the Center's new emphasis on leatherback turtle research. It has a satellite tracking program (in collaboration between the Marinelife Center, WIDECAST, and Duke University). You can keep track of Beatrice, a tagged leatherback turtle. And also follow the daily logs of the turtle researchers. They even have occasional audio posts. Even if you can't witness a leatherback nesting first-hand, you can still hear audio of it. And that's always one of the most impressive parts. (You can also read about my experience hiking overnight to see nesting leatherbacks in Trinidad.) Contact Information: Call 561/627-8280. Website: Marinelife Center. Open Mon-Sat., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun. 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Marinelife Center website is one you'll return to often. Return to Sea Turtles Homepage
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Leatherback
turtle returning |
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