March of the turtles
By Martin Kidston
Independent Record, Helena, Montana

MAUI, Hawaii — Nov 9, 2006 — The nest is surrounded on three sides with a common piece of backyard edging. The fourth side is open to the sea, which churns beyond a small sand dune just 30 feet away.

If the baby hawksbill turtles emerge from the nest alive, they’ll head to the sea — a seemingly impossible journey for a creature no larger than a silver dollar. Reaching the water will be the first challenge the turtle will face; surviving the open ocean long enough to reproduce is another story entirely.

The challenges facing these newly hatched turtles are many, and it may be one reason why the hawksbill species is considered critically endangered. The numbers here on Maui are so low, in fact, the species wasn’t known to exist on the island chain until the mid-90s, when a nesting mother was struck by a car.

“This recovery effort is a long-term project,” said Cheryl King, sitting beside the buried nest early one October morning. She’s kept vigil here for more than a week, camped out on the beach, waiting for signs of life just below the sand. “Our efforts here started 10 years ago, and we’ve got another 20 years to go before we know if our efforts are working.”

The morning is eerily calm, thanks in part to an earthquake that struck at 7 a.m. and measured 6.7 on the Richter scale. The sand rolled like a waterbed and the beachfront windows flexed, but King, taking a moment’s pause, went on to detail the turtle’s plight, hoping that perhaps the quake would be enough to rouse the hatchlings from their nest.

An average nest contains about 180 eggs, though King, who heads the hawksbill Recovery Project and serves as a research coordinator with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, suspects that this particular nest may hold more than 200 eggs.

Each golf-ball sized egg lies buried just below the sand where temperatures dictate sex. Cooler temperatures create males while warmer temperatures trigger females. The incubation period can last between 53 and 70 days, and timing is critical if the hatchlings hope to survive.

The mother that laid this nest dug three others as well, all within a short stretch of beach at Kihei, located on Maui’s western shore. The water here is calm and warm and the nesting grounds are perfect, less the people and dogs that happen by, and the million dollar homes crowding water’s edge.

“She’s not thinking, ‘Will my hatchlings be comfortable here?’” King said, speaking of the mother turtle. “Very often, the spots we think aren’t good for nesting seem to work out fine. She’s spaced her nests out real well.”

One baby pushed through the sand at 6 a.m. this morning just before the quake. Another was found tangled in the dune grass, desiccated by the sun and eaten by the ants. The journey to the water is as treacherous as it is long, and the baby attempted to make the trip on its own — several days ago, it seems, when no one was looking.

For the turtle, it’s a game of numbers. Out of every 10,000 eggs, only a handful will ever hatch. Of those that do, even fewer hatchlings will make it to the water. King believes that only one turtle from 10,000 eggs may actually survive to reach maturity.

For a creature that fits into the palm of a woman’s hand, the beach must be a desert and the dune-grass as thick as the jungle. Without the help of King, and volunteers like Norma Clothier who is camped here as well, the newly hatched turtles would hardly stand a chance.

Green turtles, also native to these waters, are equally endangered, King said. But the species is making a comeback, partially because it nests on Hawaii’s northwest islands, which are little more than atolls. In contrast, the hawksbill prefers the beaches of Hawaii’s main islands. So do the developers, who are building lush resorts and sprawling homes on the island’s shores.

In 1993, a hawksbill was struck and killed by a car while attempting to nest across the highway. When it happened again in 1996, volunteers created the Hawaii Wildlife Fund to protect the turtle. King admits that the recovery effort has a long way to go, but it’s slowly making progress, at least in the way of public awareness.

Tourists and volunteers saunter by the nest throughout the morning, stopping to ask King and Clothier how things are coming along. The curiosity appears to be sincere, and it helps the pair pass the time. “It’s the turtle,” Norma tells them when they ask. “I was hooked from the very first day. Helping them — it’s like you can make a difference.”

Lyn Gerner, an MFA student studying science and natural history filmmaking at Montana State University in Bozeman, also hopes to make a difference. She stops by from time to time, recording the nest and pending hatch with her camera for a future documentary on King and the turtle’s plight.

King says deals have been struck with seaside homeowners who are turning off — or at least diverting — exterior lights that tend to confuse nesting turtles, drawing them too far inland. The turtles often mistake the bright patio lights as the full moon.

“We got a grant to replace the light fixtures at a nearby resort,” said King. “It was lit up like a football field at night, and that’s not good for the turtles.”

When volunteers locate signs of a nesting turtle, more volunteers — like King and Clothier — keep vigil beside the nest, protecting it from harm while waiting to assist new hatchlings to the water. It’s been 70 days since this nest was laid, and the sand has yet to come alive with signs of life.

So tonight, just before sundown, members of Hawaii’s Division of Aquatic Resources will excavate the nest. Living turtles will be measured and released to the sea. Eggs yet to hatch will be incubated for a little longer in hopes they still may hatch.

“We try to let nature take its course,” King said. “We won’t dig into the nest until the time is right. Either way, you sit here and wait. You have to be very, very patient.”

The graduate program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University is the first program of its type in the world and remains the largest and the most well-known. To find out more about the program, log on to http://naturefilm.montana.edu

To find out more about the Hawksbill Recovery Project, or the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, e-mail Cheryl King at shezking@yahoo.com.

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