Many of you know that the protected, threatened, Loggerhead sea turtles will be nesting on Atlantic beaches during these spring months, with hatchlings emerging in late summer. Females crawl up their beach each night to dig nests and lay clutches of about 120 leathery-shelled eggs. Some lay up to six clutches before departing for their feeding grounds, which can be up to 3,000 km away! They won’t return to nest again for another three to five years. The hatchlings leave their nests at night to make their frantic rush for the sea.
Sea turtles are a great symbol of the health of the oceans and are very emblematic for locals and tourists alike in the US, who are quite protective about them. Loggerhead sea turtles are found globally, preferring temperate and subtropical waters, but the majority of loggerhead nesting is concentrated in two main areas of the world — at Masirah Island, Oman, in the Middle East and on the coast of the southeastern United States, mainly from N Carolina to SW Florida.
Loggerhead sea turtles and eggs are hunted extensively in many parts of the world. In the U. S., however, the main threat is from raccoons and wild boar, which eat the eggs. On some nesting beaches, raccoons may destroy more than 95 percent of the nests. Encroaching human populations are also a threat. In Florida, almost the entire coastline is developed, under development, or subject to development. The introduction of exotic plants by humans may form dense root systems along shores, restricting egg-laying and trapping hatchlings. Beds of Sargassum Weed, where the early part of the life cycle is spent, attract pollutants such as oils and plastics.
In order to help turtles that may become stranded during migrations in the summer months, a Stranding Network was established in 1980 through the cooperation of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, National Marine Fisheries Service and the Riverhead Foundation. In response to sea turtle mortality in trawl nets, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued regulations requiring shrimp trawlers of the southeastern and Gulf coasts to have a turtle excluder device (TED) on their nets. This device allows turtles and other large marine life to escape should they enter a net.
I discovered more about these majestic turtles a number of years ago when I read Pat Conroy’s Beach Music. I picked it from a library shelf originally because the story starts in Rome, but in fact the protagonist returns rapidly to his native N Carolina, and a delicate part of the story is between the protagonist’s daughter and grandmother and their efforts to save these turtle hatchlings. By the way if you like sweeping, dramatic, elegant stories about the South (and the military) you will love Conroy. This was my introduction to the author and I have now read most of his novels!
However, this is a kidlit blog so I want to introduce to an elegant story, in its own way, about Tammy Turtle – A Tale of Saving Sea Turtles by Suzanne Tate and illustrated by James Melvin. This is #11 in a conservation series and it is a truly educational book with a heartfelt and simple message for children. We pick up the plot on a dark night when Tammy hatches from an egg with around 100 siblings. The HELPFUL HUMANS are introduced at this point wearing wildlife badges on and a message that professionals were involved in looking out for these eggs. These instinctive reptiles charge for the ocean and into the Gulf Stream. Tammy grows but sadly one day ingests some plastic she mistook for a jellyfish. The HELPFUL HUMAN officials arrive to save Tammy, who is eventually released again into the ocean. The story comes full circle when years later Tammy and her sisters return to the same beach to lay their first clutches. The ‘helpful humans’ are correctly anonymous and skilled animal carers in this book, so children will know to seek help if they find hatchlings or adults turtles in trouble. I do think this is appropriate in a conservation book but it took away a little from the kid-appeal for me. This book is endorsed by the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society.
# 53 Read to Me Picture Book Challenge
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
Für mich hat Gott keine schöneren Tiere erschaffen, als Schildkröten!Ob Land,Meer,Fluss oder Sumpfschildkröten:Ich liebe sie alle!!
Super, dass du auf ein Problem aufmerksam machst und zugleich auf ein Kinderbuch!..:-).Liebe Grüsse
Vielen Dank, Iris, es freuet Mich, Dich zu lesen auf meinem Blog! Ich habe diese Tieren auch sehr gern und bin auch gerade dabei eine Geschichte zu schreiben über eine Schildkröte, die in meiner Region wohnt und sehr gefährdet ist!
xxx
A very interesting post. I have never heard of the Loggerhead Turtles before. Again we learn something new from you. I can well imagine this book being of great educational benefit for children. The pictures look lovely. You have done a lot of research into this creature and marine life in general.
Vielen Dank, Joanna.
Bitte schön! I guess I have done quite a few posts on tortoises and turtles now! i think they also make intriguing characters for children’s stories.
Very important and compelling information, Joanna. With you mentioning that the way the book expressed the work of the rescuers detracted from the “kid-appeal” I wonder if the HELPFUL HUMAN emphasis in the story would turn kids off? I wonder if there’s another way to get the same message across in a more child-centric way?
I think it should be possible, Beth. I understand they don’t want kids to just randomly pick up hatchlings thinking they are helping and I know I abandoned one manuscript idea I had because there was too much focus on helping adults, which can be hard to avoid in conservation. It challenges me to keep my stories as child-centric as I can.
Really liked you blog. I have always been fascinated with sea turtles, especially because of my trips to a special place in Florida. One of my friends is a “helpful human” on an island where they have a home. There are a lot of turtles that lay their eggs on their remote beaches and they go out in the morning and watch for predators and help the new hatchlings that are in trouble. There were three areas where nests were spotted on the beach we stayed. All ligts are blackened at night to help prevent the hatchlings from heading the wrong direction.
It almost sounds like the story is both fiction and non-fiction. From what I gahered from your discussion. Maybe, I’m the odd person out, but showing the human’s helping might encourage a child to want to become a conservationist. But, like you challenge as a writer to keep your stories as child-centric as possible.
Excellent post.
Pat
Pat,
Thank you for your comments. There is indeed an element of non-fiction in this story, which, as you know, is a style I am interested in, as well as their clear conservation goal with the book. You and Diane may well be correct that the anonymous adults in their conservation uniforms, who help the hatchlings, would inspire kids with similar goals. This was just my personal feeling that I want to know the characters involved, but clearly this was very intentional by the author. I would really need to read it with kids to know better their reaction. I certainly appreciate the goals of this series of books.
I loved reading about your friend’s involvement in protecting these turtles and also in the important precautions on the beach where you stayed, of blackening the lights at night; I understand that is becoming more prevalent on these beaches.
No Pat you are not alone. I to saw the hint of conservational enlightment in this story for children. Would certainly be a conversation point anyway.