GULF SHORES — Three educators from the Gulf State Park met with guests and residents in the lobby of The Lodge hotel to discuss threats to sea turtles, conservation efforts, what to do when you spot one and how you can help these endangered species.

The May 20 "Turtle Talk at 2" event was hosted by Corey Bryan, Chandra Wright and Drew Gentry. Bryan mostly led the presentation while all three answered questions from the audience of about 15 people during a discussion period.

With five of the seven sea turtle species in the world found in the Gulf, three types are known for nesting on Alabama's beaches: loggerheads, Kemp Ridley's and green sea turtles. While Bryan mostly focused on threats and conservation, he did briefly mention each of the species and the differences between them.

He pointed out a wall in The Lodge lobby that was covered with sandy-looking art representing sea turtle tracks. He said you could tell they were representing loggerhead tracks because of the size and pattern of flipper movement.

"Loggerheads and also the Kemp's Ridley, a smaller sea turtle, whenever they come to shore to nest they're going to use their flippers in an alternating pattern," Bryan said. "However, when the green sea turtle comes to shore it's going to use it's flippers at the same time."

Loggerheads are significantly larger than Kemp's Ridley, he said, helping to differentiate between alternate-patterned tracks.

Female sea turtles come to the shore to lay eggs once they reach the "mature" age of 20-30 years old.

Sea turtles have a lifespan from 50 to "we're not really sure," educator Wright chimed in, and only 1 in 1000 sea turtles expected to reach nesting maturity, Bryan said. However, the same sea turtle can lay eggs at different beach areas "two-to-four times during the nesting season."

THREATS TO SEA TURTLES

While females can be spotted on the shore when it is time to nest, males and non-nesting females are typically only seen on shore if they're sick or injured, "otherwise they spend their whole lives in the Gulf" and the ocean.

Educator Gentry said while sea turtles come to shore when they are sick or injured, they don't always head for the shore when they're not feeling well and mostly end up there accidentally.

"A lot of them die out in the water," Gentry said. "It's just if they're close enough and I mean obviously they can wash up. That's the other thing, if they're sick or injured they're not able to push against the current. … If they're sick or injured, generally speaking, they'll float because that's the easiest way for them to rest."

Bryan said sea turtles have a lot of natural predators once they leave the sand and even while they're buried in it. They serve as "easy prey" for other animals like foxes, birds, fish and sharks. Some baby sea turtles are lucky enough to catch a patch of floating seaweed where they find "protection, coverage" and "good nutrients."

"Something else they have to worry about is pollution," Bryan said. "So, sea turtles, one of their favorite foods is jellyfish, so they see something like a plastic bag floating in the water and they think it's a jellyfish. They're going to eat that and, as you can imagine, that's not going to sit very well. It will probably make them sick and, in turn, could make them come ashore looking for help or possibly to die."

Cigarette butts floating in the water can resemble shrimp, another favorite sea turtle snack, Bryan said. He said if a sea turtle ate a cigarette butt it would further lead to "that pollution," which "makes them sick."

Because of this, Bryan said it's important to pick up trash and "not leave any trash behind" when visiting the beach.

Another threat to sea turtles is light pollution from flashlights on the beach, condos, roadways and parking areas. Turtles are highly sensitive to light as this is one of their cues for where to go before, during and after nesting because they're "guided by light," Bryan said. He encouraged turtle-friendly flashlights, which he said are for sale at most souvenir stores in the area.

Gentry explained some of the "cues" used by sea turtles to go back to the same beach they were hatched on when it's time for them to lay their own eggs sometimes getting "within a few hundred yards" of there they hatched.

From using the Earth's geomagnetic fields, "like birds or whales," sea turtles also use the smell of "oil factories" or the "things in the water" when they enter the water for the first time. As sea turtles are usually "very, very specific" on navigation, they are exceptionally keen to smell, Gentry said.

"One of the reasons, actually, that nesting numbers last year may have been so low compared to previous years was because of a beach restoration project," Gentry said, "where dredged sand from the Gulf was actually removed and then placed along the beaches, which is obviously going to change not only the contour of the shoreline but also the smell. So, they might not have recognized it."

As previously reported by GCM, Share the Beach, a conservation program for Alabama's sea turtle nests through the Alabama Coastal Foundation (ACF), reported a total of 143 nests in 2023. In 2024 there were 78 nests reported.

WHAT TO DO WITH A SEA TURTLE ON THE SHORE

If you spot a sea turtle nesting, in distress or on the shore, call 1-866-732-8878 (1-866-SEA-TURTLE) for the Alabama Sea Turtle Hotline to report the sighting. Sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 to Oct. 31. During these dates, sea turtle sightings, nests and hatchings can all be expected.

Byran said a momma turtle is looking for a "quiet, dark place" to lay her eggs. The best response someone could have to a sea turtle sighting was to remain calm, turn off white lights, report the turtle and protect her from any predatory animals or curious people.

Loggerheads, Kemp's Ridley and green sea turtles are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which means it is illegal to take, touch or even interfere with one of these sea turtles. A violation can result in up to a $100,000 fine.

Wright, a "longtime volunteer" with Share the Beach explained how it's rare to see a nesting sea turtle on Alabama's beaches.

"I have only seen it a handful of times and I've been doing this (volunteering with Share the Beach) for 15 years," Wright said.

She said the busiest recorded year for Alabama was when there were 237 nests reported from "Dauphin Island to the Flora-Bama."

"237 nests sounds like a lot, but there are places in south Florida that will have an 8-mile section of beach that will have over 10,000 nests," Wright said.

This is because most turtles spend their time in the Caribbean and oceans and it's a long swim to get "all the way to the top of the Gulf" on Alabama's shore.

Even though nesting sightings are rare in the area, earlier this year, two rare Kemp's Ridley nests were spotted and reported by visitors creating a once-in-a-lifetime memory on vacation. Both groups knew to call the proper authorities.

In a previous GCM article on the subject, Share the Beach Director Rachael Holdsworth said these first two sightings are not significant indicators of what the "overall nesting season" will look like, especially since Kemp's Ridley are known for nesting earlier in the season.

"We are feeling optimistic for a busy nesting season after a slow season last year, but it is too early to tell," Holdsworth was quoted saying. "… We are all excited though and looking forward to the months ahead."

For more information on Share the Beach and how you can help Alabama's sea turtles, visit https://www.joinacf.org/stb.

The Turtles at 2 lobby talk will be held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays throughout the summer. Three educators will share information and answer questions of the audience. While the main presentation is held from 2 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., educators stay and "talk turtles" as long as needed to ensure every question is answered and every attendee is informed.