Photo: Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation
It’s Turtle Time on Sanibel!
Any time now female sea turtles will begin to make their journey onto the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva to make new nests and lay eggs.
Turtle season for 2017 officially runs from April 15th until October 31st. The hatchlings make their way out of the nest after dark and rely on the light in the sky and the light reflected off of the water to make their way to the beach.
Artificial light, such as a lit lanai or porch, causes hatchlings to crawl away from the water and toward the light source, and die before they can reach the water. Each year thousands of hatchlings die in Florida due to lighting along beaches.
Sandalfoot is proud to help with this initiative by asking our guests to close curtains or blinds after dark, remove all beach furniture after 9:00pm. and fill in any holes that might have been left on the beach. All outdoor lights should be turned off.
Photo: Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation
Nests on the beach will be clearly marked, cordoned off with yellow tape and usually covered with a grill to discourage predators.
To protect the hatchlings, no flash photography or cellphone lights should be used after dark, nor should flashlights be used, especially around a nesting turtle or a nest.
The 2016 sea turtle season was extremely successful on both Sanibel and Captiva, breaking records from the previous year. A total of 636 nests were laid on Sanibel and 194 nests laid on Captiva. From these nests over 25,000 hatchlings emerged; there were 3,369 hatchlings recorded on Captiva, and 21,994 on Sanibel.
We look forward to doing our part so the sea turtles survive and thrive.
Located on the east end of Sanibel Island, just one mile from the historic Sanibel Lighthouse, our vacation rental condo community is nestled beachfront on the Gulf of Mexico. Sandalfoot Beachfront Condominium has been consistently ranked #1 and #2 in our category by TripAdvisor, also receiving their Certificate of Excellence three years in a row. Sandalfoot Beachfront Condominium. So much more than a room with a view!
