Went to watch the Leatherback Turtles nest last night. Awesome!
Got to the beach at 7:30 pm. Watched them release some baby turtles. Then got to see a 6 ft long and 4 ft wide Leatherback Turtle lay her eggs. She laid 105 eggs which should be born around the first of September. As we left we saw several baby turtles heading out to see. Some facts about Leatherbacks:
- Leatherback - named for its unique shell which is composed of a layer of thin, tough, rubbery skin, strengthened by thousands of tiny bone plates that makes it look "leathery."
- Once they get into the sea the males stay there for the rest of their lives, only the females come back to land to lay their eggs, she returns to the same beach where they hatched to lay their eggs.
- Nest at intervals of 2 to 3 years.Nests between 4 to 7 times per season, with an average of 10 days between nesting.
- Nesting season in Grenada is May thru August
- Only three in every thousand baby turtles survive long enough reach sexual maturity.
- They feed almost exclusively on jellyfish.
