Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Turtles are often sighted around  Dry Tortugas National Park. Named “Las Tortugas” by Ponce de Leon in 1513, this collection of small sand and coral islands are famous for the abundance of sea turtles that annually nest on them. Loggerhead, Hawksbill, and Green turtles can sometimes be spotted floating in the sea on the trip between Key West and the Dry Tortugas National Park.

The Dry Tortugas National Park is the most active turtle nesting site in the Florida Keys. Park Service biologists have been monitoring sea turtle nesting activity within park boundaries since 1980. The park’s seven islands are surveyed throughout the nesting season to document the presence of turtles in the park. When researchers find a specially-shaped mound of sand on the beach, they know it is a nest. Each nest is marked and recorded. Forty-five days later the nest is checked for signs of hatchlings. Three days later, researchers evacuate the nest, release trapped hatchlings, and record the number of eggs.

The five species of sea turtles found in the Dry Tortugas region are Green, Loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley, Hawksbill, and Leatherback. All five species were once more abundant, now all five species are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.