Sarasota Visitors Guide 2008 - (Page 8) By Lisa Codianne Fowler Ever see tiny tracks in the sand? They’re a telltale clue that a sea turtle wriggled out of its eggshell and scurried out to sea. It’s just one of nature’s many miracles that occur in Sarasota. Another? That I was up at 7 a.m. for a Lido Beach turtle walk. Like sea turtles, I tend to be nocturnal. But the opportunity to witness evidence of this 150-million year-old ritual was too compelling to pass up. Mark Benjamin, a Mote Marine Laboratorytrained Ritz-Carlton employee, leads resort guests, residents and visitors on a complimentary Turtle Walk each Saturday morning from mid-May through mid-October during nesting season. Nature’s Nativity We assemble at Lido’s north lifeguard stand at the first blush of dawn. The city is still asleep. As the sun rises, it accents the blue sky and sugar-white sand in pastel pinks and oranges. Coffees in hand, we literally follow in Mark’s footsteps, learning about and looking for signs of new nests. Huge tractor-like marks indicate that a mama turtle, weighing up to 350 pounds and measuring three feet long, has returned from faraway lands and laboriously crawled to her favorite nesting spot. Two months later, about 120 hatchlings will tumble over their siblings, inhale their first breath of salty night air, and together, swim far out to sea. Baby creatures emerge in Sarasota throughout the year. Newborn turtles on Lido, Longboat and Siesta keys as well as Bradenton, Venice, Manasota and Turtle beaches (of course!) join the fledgling ospreys, nursing manatees and developing dolphins that flourish here. It’s only natural. Courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory Top: Lido Beach Bottom: A nesting sea turtle Right: Crowley Museum & Nature Center 8 THE OFFICIAL SARASOTA VISITORS GUIDE® 2008
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