turtle training and ladies’ night
Our day started out with a training session at the North Shore – Sammy and I will be volunteering as Honu Guardians at a beach where the turtles enjoy basking. We’ll be helping educate the public about the Hawaiian green sea turtle (honu) while ensuring the turtles have room to bask. I learned so much from Joanne (the coordinator shown above in the cap). The program is affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the turtles are monitored for research about nesting, feeding, and migration habits. The turtles are in protected status under the Endangered Species Act. Sammy was a good little helper, putting out signs and picking them up. We put a red rope on the sand around the turtle to give him space. Pictured above is L1, Brutus. He is about 40 yrs old and around 170 lbs. Mom kept an eye on Sam so I could focus on learning the “ropes” of the volunteer program. I really look forward to this work as an amateur naturalist 🙂
This evening was the first of what I hope will be monthly outings with a group of amazing new friends whom I met through the Swamp Romp adventure. We went to a Moroccan restaurant in Kailua, Casablanca. You enjoy having your hands washed with a scented water, then eat a multi-course feast with your fingers. It was very relaxed and fun. Pictured here, from L to R, are Angel, April, Diane, me, Leo, Laurie and Heidi. I handed out little magnets of our group picture after we crossed the Swamp Romp finish line. We talked about many crazy notions – long-term plans for our little gang of women, such as traveling for the greater good by doing some humanitarian work. We’d have fundraiser events to fund our travel. Among the many ideas for our next “event” – a pillowfight on the beach. (Laurie swears she saw a story about a group of women who formed a Pillow Fight League on CNN. Sounded fun to me!) This is only the start of something great, I am sure. These are women of great depth, intelligence and determination. It will be fun to see where our hopes and energy take us over the coming years.
The whole honu work sounds really interesting. I don’t remember that when I was a kid. When was that formed? Also I’m wondering about Brutus. I assume the L1 is a marker to identify him, but is it a unique code just for him or does it represent a classification of some sort? Also, there appears to be something projecting from the top of his shell, or is that his front left flipper in just an unusual position?
Thanks for your interest and questions. The turtles started hauling onto shore to bask since about 1999, and the honu guardian group has been active since 2005 when the human-turtle interactions became markedly increased. The L1 marker is simply a unique ID for Brutus. He was named because several years ago, around March 15th, he came ashore all bloody. He’d been bitten by a shark and his rear left flipper was badly injured. The honu guardians cared for him and decided to name him Brutus after Shakespeare’s “et tu Brute, beware the ides of March.” Thereafter, the honu guardians celebrate Brutus’ birthday on the Saturday nearest March 15 (this year it was March 17). They think he is around 40 yrs old. On his carapace you can see the satellite transponder and time/depth recorder installed in Feb 2/07. Three turtles have such devices to monitor swimming patterns and whether or not they come into contact with environmental hazards at sea and along the coastline. Twenty turtles have passive integrated transponders (PITs) in their hind flippers (similar to the ones required for pets in Hawaii). These tracking devices allow researchers to measure the travel patterns and depths of dives (up to 100m!).