Sea Turtles Return to the Sea at Disney's Vero Beach
Some 250 lucky guests at Disney's Vero Beach Resort had the great opportunity of seeing two huge sea turtles leaving their eggs on the beach and departing for a long adventure into the Atlantic Ocean. Take a look:
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Sea Turtles Get Huge Send-Off by Disney's Vero Beach Resort Guests
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| Picture copyright of the Walt Disney Company. |
More than 250 Disney's Vero Beach Resort Guests watched as the loggerhead turtle returns to the sea.
Lightning McQueen is sponsored by Disney's Animal Programs and Disney's Vero Beach Resort, and Rapunzel is sponsored by the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF). Of the more than $15 million that the DWCF has distributed since the fund's inception, almost $1 million has helped support sea turtle conservation around the world.A program created by the Sea Turtle Conservancy, Tour de Turtles follows the marathon migration of 15 sea turtles representing four species from their nesting beaches to their foraging grounds. The goal of Tour de Turtles is to inspire people to care about sea turtle conservation.
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| Picture copyright of the Walt Disney Company. |
In the United States, 90 percent of sea turtle nesting occurs in Florida.
Each turtle acts as an ambassador to raise awareness about a specific threat to sea turtles. Lightning McQueen is raising awareness about the threat of light pollution on the beach. Because sea turtle hatchlings rely on moonlight to find their way to the ocean, many become disoriented and drawn off course by artificial light sources. It's important, for example, to turn off lights in windows visible from the beach or to keep the windows covered. Rapunzel is raising awareness about the threat of entanglement, as turtles can become tangled in trash and nets and drown. Making sure that all recyclables are placed in recycle bins and that trash is placed in covered receptacles helps keep objects that are dangerous to sea turtles out of waterways. |
| Picture copyright of the Walt Disney Company. |
The turtles were fitted with satellite transmitters and researchers will track their movements.
Researchers from Disney's Animal Programs and the Sea Turtle Conservancy will track the sea turtles using satellite telemetry as they travel from their nesting beach to various feeding grounds. Using this technology, scientists learn about sea turtles' habits at sea and the different migratory patterns of each species. This knowledge helps researchers, conservationists and governing agencies make more informed decisions about sea turtle conservation actions and policies. Guests can find out about this research and follow the turtles' journeys when they visit the Wildlife Tracking Center in Rafiki's Planet Watch at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. People worldwide can view the sea turtles' progress online at www.tourdeturtles.org. Each year, approximately 50,000 female sea turtles come to lay their eggs in Florida, making our beaches one of the most important nesting areas in the world. Sea turtles are among the oldest creatures on earth and have remained essentially unchanged for 110 million years. In the United States, as much as 90 percent of sea turtle nesting occurs in Florida, which serves as a primary nesting site for several species of endangered and threatened sea turtles.
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It is truly amazing to be able to get so up-close with such great animals. We were planning on going to visit Disney's Vero Beach in the near future, and we sure hope to get at least a glimpse of these inspiring creatures.
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