On the morning of August 11, our terrapin crew found a partially depredated nest at the sanctuary.
Eight broken egg shards and one punctured egg were scattered on the surface, eaten by a fox or raccoon. However, our crew also found six eggs still in the ground, and could protect the remainder of the nest.
The punctured egg was brought back to the wet lab, and I peeled back a portion of the shell to reveal a still developing hatchling!
This partially eaten egg houses a live and well developed hatchling (photo by Leah Desrochers)
She spent the next week surrounded by moist paper towels, and kept in complete darkness. We checked her twice a day, making sure that her yolk was whole and that her egg stayed upright.
Time to hatch! (photo by Leah Desrochers)
Finally this morning, we found that she had left her egg entirely, and has only a tiny yolk sac remaining.
This hatchling has good yolk sac which provides food until the turtle can forage on its own. (photo by Leah Desrochers)
She’s now being gently cuddled by wet paper towels that are holding her steady, to prevent any damage to the remaining yolk. We hope she’ll be ready for release soon!
This lucky hatchling is kept cool and cozy until release day. (photo by Leah Desrochers).
This post was written by the supervisor of Wellfleet Bay’s diamondback terrapin field team, Rebecca Shoer. Her teammate Leah Desrochers took the excellent photos.