REPTILES
Identifying Sea Turtle Crawls on NC Beaches by Dr. Matthew Godfrey, Sea Turtle Biologist
D uring the summer along the North Carolina coast, volunteers and cooperators with the NC Sea Turtle Project conduct beach patrols each morning to look for fresh sea turtle crawls. Being large, sea turtles leave deep and distinctive tracks in the sand when they emerge from the ocean making it relatively easy to find them. Once a new crawl is identified, the volunteers and cooperators must determine if the sea turtle crawl resulted in eggs being laid, and if so, mark off the nest cavity site with wooden stakes, string and informational signs, to protect the eggs from being disturbed during their 7-week or longer incuba- tion period. Some turtles that crawl up the beach at night will return to the sea without laying eggs; these events are termed “false crawls.” For loggerhead sea turtles nesting in North Carolina, the ratio of false crawls to new nests is about 1:1, which is simi- lar to reports from other nesting locations around the world. In some cases, false crawls seem to be related to anthropogenic activity, such as when a turtle is accidentally frightened by nighttime beach walkers, or when a turtle’s access to nesting sites higher up the beach is effectively blocked by beach furniture left overnight on the strand. But false crawls are also documented on remote beaches with minimal human activity and no apparent disturbance factors. Why loggerhead sea turtles crawl so often on the beach during the nesting season without laying eggs is not fully understood and is just one of many mysteries about sea turtle behavior.
NCWRC
NCWRC
Above: A false crawl made by a loggerhead turtle on Shackleford Banks, Carteret County. Note that she returned to the ocean without any signs of digging a nest cavity. Right: A loggerhead false crawl on Shark Island, off of Cape Lookout Point.
25 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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