Nesting season for the Kemp's ridley sea turtles isn't over yet, but early reports show there have been a record number of nests found at the Padre Island National Seashore already this year.
The most recent sighting of an endangered sea turtle nest on Thursday at the National Seashore marked the 51st at the National Seashore this year.
a record 76 Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests have been reported on the Texas Gulf Coast this year.
That's up from 51 last year and the most since efforts to restore the endangered turtle began three decades ago.
The nesting season started in April and continues through mid-July.
Natural repopulating and intensive conservation efforts have produced the increased numbers of the turtles during the past three decades, said Donna Shaver, chief of Padre Island National Seashore's Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery.
"This is a historic nesting season for the Kemp's ridley," Shaver said.
"We've all been working toward this for years."
Even though Shaver said the nesting is record-breaking, she advises visitors to the seashore to continue to keep watch for more nests since the season isn't over yet.
"It's very possible we'll find even more," she said.
According to Shaver, 140 volunteers patrol miles of beaches every day, but because of a short nesting process lasting about 30 to 45 minutes, visitors often are the first ones to report sightings of nesting Kemp's Ridleys.
Link
Linear Mode
