Horseshoe crab researcher Colyer Woolston holds sea turtle found on the tidal flats (photo by Chris Szwedo)
It started as just another day out surveying for juvenile horseshoe crabs. The only change to my otherwise normal surveying procedure was that on this outing, my work was being filmed for a short video on Wellfleet Bay’s horseshoe crab research.
Filmmaker Chris Szwedo and I headed out onto the flats at Skaket Beach in Orleans in search of juveniles. After walking several hundred yards out to the edge of the low tide line without any success, we decided to arc back to the shore to cover some different ground before moving to another location.
Shortly after turning around, we encountered an enclosed tidal channel that was about a foot in depth in the center and petered out on both ends, rendering it more or less a long, sandy tidal pool. Chris lowered his GoPro camera into the water and stared hopefully around, commenting on how nice it would be to get an underwater shot of some juvenile horseshoe crabs.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtle trapped in Skaket Beach tidal pool (photo by Colyer Woolston)
At that moment, I looked to my left and was completely taken aback. A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was bearing down on us no farther than 10 feet away. “Sea turtle!” I yelled. The turtle glided right up to us, completely unafraid. Watching it effortlessly swim around us was both utterly wild and magical.
A sea turtle, especially a Kemp’s ridley, was the last creature I expected to encounter while scouring the intertidal zone for juvenile horseshoe crabs. Considering that the turtle was trapped and quite vulnerable, I immediately called sanctuary director Bob Prescott to ask for his advice on how to deal with the situation. His instructions: “Capture it and bring it back to the sanctuary.” I should note that the sanctuary has a permit to retrieve this endangered species.
Colyer gives turtle a lift (photo by Chris Szwedo)
This was incredibly exciting! How often is one lucky enough to both see a wild, critically endangered animal and handle it, not to mention have the opportunity to rescue it? Fortunately, the turtle was a very healthy specimen as opposed to sick or cold stunned, which would scarcely have been news for the sanctuary crew considering they rescued over a thousand cold stunned sea turtles last fall alone.
Capturing the relatively docile turtle was hardly a challenge in such shallow water. Luckily, I was carrying a large canvas tote bag with my research equipment, which, after removal, the turtle fit into perfectly. After a slow and smooth ride on the back roads to the sanctuary, the turtle was turned over into Bob’s capable hands. Chris and I then rushed back out to the beach to beat the incoming tide so as to complete the initial goal of the day: tracking down and filming juvenile horseshoe crabs.
The turtle was driven to the New England Aquarium for a check-up and is expected to be released.
This blog post is by Colyer Woolston, a research assistant with Wellfleet Bay’s horseshoe crab study team. Colyer graduated in 2014 from Hamilton College where he majored in environmental studies. He lives in Denver