Turtle Trouble: Are 4x4s Crushing Bribie Island’s Tiny Hatchlings?

Date:

Share post:

Make this sound more engaging

Diane Oxenford’s heart breaks when she sees the dead bodies of endangered turtles wash up on Bribie Island’s beaches.

Nesting season is approaching for critically endangered loggerhead sea turtles as they return home from far-flung ocean voyages to lay eggs.

It is a perilous period for the turtles due to natural predators.

On the other hand, Bribie Island nesting grounds are a popular destination for fishers, jet skiers, and holidaymakers from Brisbane and beyond.

Ms Oxenford said thousands of four-wheel drives plough through the nesting grounds every week.

They tear up the grasses and leave ruts in the sand which can trap and confuse hatchings on their way to the water.

Cars on a beach

Thousands of cars drive through Bribie Island’s beaches every week (Supplied: Darren Jew)

Ms Oxenford is the team leader for the Bribie Island Turtle Trackers, a group of volunteers who will spend the next few months trying to prevent the hatching season from failing.

“It’s soul destroying to know you’re getting all these baby turtles out of a nest, but you can’t guarantee they make it to the ocean,” she said.

“It’s a marine park here. So why do we allow four-wheel drives on our beach, off-leash dogs in our dunes, and jet-skis in our waters?”

Working against human influence

Four women lying on a beach

Diane Oxenford,  Ann Percival, Jean Taplin, and Jenny Archer wake up at the crack of dawn to search for turtle nests. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)

Jean Tilpa is one of the volunteers who, from November, will spend the next few months waking up at the crack of dawn to clear litter and lay mesh over the nests.

Ms Tilpa said they sometimes discover the corpses of adult turtles which had been trapped in an abandoned crab pot and drowned over several agonising minutes.

She said some of the turtles turn around and dump their eggs in the water when they get spooked by the lights of four-wheel drives or other human activity.

“We need to educate people and we need to start with the children. If we don’t it’s lost forever,” Ms Tilpa said.

A drone shot showing jet skis and cars on an island

Boats and jet skis at Bribie Island can ruin a turtle’s nesting season.  (Supplied: Darren Jew )

Jenny Archer is one of the citizen scientists who will be tasked with tagging turtles for the Queensland Turtle Conservation Centre.

Ms Archer said it is long and painstaking work, but made all the more worth it by the sight of the little hatchlings reaching the water.

“It’s very exciting to know that evolution is carrying on and this new life will be out trying to survive in our oceans,” Ms Archer said.

“It inspires you to try and protect the dunes and keep the areas as good as you can.”

A bald man next to metal art

Geoff Ginn has personally sat on turtle nests to protect the eggs ahead of hatching season.  (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)

Geoff Ginn, from the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association, has spent countless hours sitting by turtle nests to prevent them from harm.

The nests are often dug up by dogs or feral animals who can smell the eggs under the sand.

Loading…

He said one of the greatest threats were humans, with over 1,000 four-wheel drives ploughing through Bribie Island’s beaches per day.

Mr Ginn said the vulnerable turtles held a special place in the hearts of Bribie Island folk.

“They’re turtle lovers because they’re enchanted by the birth cycle,” Mr Ginn said.

“This beach is shared by these critters who have come from across the Pacific and these nests mean the next generations can occur.”

Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related articles

Shell Shocked! How Climate Change Threatens Aussie Turtles

Australia's Unique Flatback Turtles Face Extinction Threat From Climate Change Australia boasts a treasure unique to its shores: the...

Shell-Shocking News! Green Lights Save Turtles From Fishing Nets!

Saving Cyprus's Green Turtles: One Light at a Time Imagine a majestic green turtle, over a meter long and...

Danger Zone: Are Turtles and Bats Flying Off the Map? ️

The Great Migration in Peril: Our Planet's Wanderers Face Extinction Imagine this: Millions of wildebeest thundering across the Serengeti,...

From Sand to Surf: Why Do So Many Baby Turtles Die On Florida’s Beaches? (Turtle Trouble!)

The Hidden Danger: Uncovering the Silent Threat to Sea Turtle Hatchlings Imagine a tiny sea turtle, just a few...