Have You Seen this Leatherback?

A concerned local resident sent me photos of this leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) that was hit during Blue Angels practice on Friday. Boat strikes are fairly common, and easily treatable for hard shelled sea-turtles. Leatherbacks are a little trickier.



You can see the prop marks as white streaks on the leatherbacks dark shell. It's hard to treat this type of turtle, but he or she may be healing on its own. Please call the National Park, the Coast Guard or FWC if you see this turtle in the water or on the beach. You can also call a BioTech (Kirsten or Monica) directly at 850-232-3640.



We'd all love to see less of jellies they thrive on,



and more little leatherback hathclings!