Key Colony Beach and Turtles

After I got home from Church today we rode our bikes 8 miles up the road to Key Colony Beach to take in their annual festival. When we were here three years ago we attended it and had a good time. It hasn't changed in three years! They still have a bake sale and silent auction, barracuda races, live music, food booths, and lots of vendors selling art, jewelry, clothes and junk. Just as we got in line for a hamburger it started raining. It only lasted about 20 minutes but it sure cooled the day down and brought up the wind again. It was a long ride back facing into a 20 mph breeze.   

Everyday we go past The Turtle Hospital so today I decided I should check it out. John wasn't interested. The hospital used to be a motel with a salt water swimming pool fed by the ocean. Now that pool holds some of the turtles and the motel rooms are offices and a surgical center. They also have individual tanks for the sicker turtles.

One of the hospital's caretaker described the different turtle found in Florida. Most are loggerheads but you will find some green backs and leather backs and a couple other smaller ones. Their mission is to take care of the sick and damaged turtles as well as to educate us on how pollution, building, boats and trash is harming the turtle populations. Sea turtles eat jelly fish, shrimp, octopus and squid. If anything is floating in the water and resembles any of these animals, the turtle will eat it. They have sick turtles who have eaten so much trash that they get stopped up. When brought into the hospital, they determine they are compacted so they give them Metamucil, oil, bean-o and anything else that will get them moving. Some turtles have been so severely damaged by boat propellers, fishing line and fish hooks that they cannot be released into the wild. They have 13 permanent residents. One is blind, several have paralyzed flippers, one has lost all but one flipper, and several have shells damaged so badly that they cannot dive which is important to get food. But they also have about 15 right now that will be released back at some point.

So, if you ever snag a turtle on a fish line - do not cut the line but bring the turtle to shore and call the hospital. If you see a turtle floating on the surface and not diving, call them. Do not disturb turtle nests because, as it is only 1 out of every 1000 eggs develops into an adult. And never, ever throw anything into the ocean water because a turtle WILL eat it.