Turtle hatchlings. Photo courtesy of Friends of Virgin Islands National Park.

On Monday, my family and I had the opportunity to see turtle hatchlings released at Trunk Bay! My friend and our office manager, Keleigh, volunteers with the national park and was kind of enough to let me know when the release was happening.

It took place around 7 pm at Trunk Bay. A large group showed up for the exciting event. I had not been to the beach at night in quite a while… my daughter is 19 months old 😉 The two ladies that work for the park and handle the turtle monitoring program, Adren and Willow, were very knowledgeable. The nest that they found and excavated was actually on Lovango Cay. They were able to rescue up to 35 hatchlings from that nest! The hatchlings were protected during the day and they purposely planned to release them at night to avoid being picked up by active daytime predators.

The setting at Trunk Bay was great. It was cool since it rained that evening. The stars were shining and the group present was excited to see the turtles swim out into the world. We were not able to use any lights, phones or anything, as that would have distracted the turtles from swimming to the ocean since they are attracted to the light. No photos were taken but it was a special thing to be a part of.

I look forward to seeing another release! I have known about the turtle program for a little while now but have not participated at all until now. I’m so glad I did! St. John has a lot to offer outside of the beautiful beaches and views. If you have questions about life on St. John and how to make this special place home, don’t hesitate to contact me anytime.

Paige
paige@islandiarealestate.com
678-642-0888