Saturday morning started out as any other for North Side resident Dean Miller until he found turtle tracks that ended abruptly on the beachfront property he was checking that day.
What ensued after that discovery was an hours-long, unforgettable rescue effort for Miller and an even-greater admiration for the Department of Environment’s turtle team.
“[The feeling I have] I would say is just gratitude that I had been able to play a part in helping to save the turtle and also that the [Department of Environment] team was there and so responsive. We all watched in awe as the turtle made its way down to the beach and swam off into the sea,” Miller said, as he recounted Saturday’s events in a telephone interview with the Cayman Compass on Tuesday.
The rescued nesting turtle, the DoE told the Compass Tuesday, was tagged and is the 130th green sea turtle to be tagged out of an estimated population of 150.
“Her shell was length and width were both 99cm… So a square meter shell,” the DoE said.
A ‘shocking’ find
Miller, who said he takes care of some beachfront properties in Rum Point while the owners are away, said he went out to one of the homes Saturday morning to do his routine check when he spotted the tracks.
He said he looked around the area and noticed that the tracks ended suddenly, but he did not see any returning to the sea.
The North Side resident said he knew something was amiss.
“The tracks came further up than they normally do… across the brush line and under the rear deck of the house, and I could see where the turtle had dug the hole to lay its eggs, and I didn’t want to trouble that. But I didn’t see any tracks going back down to the beach, which concerned me,” he said.
Miller was able to follow the tracks to the front of the house, but the ground got quite hard there so he couldn’t say exactly where it went.
After a further search, he said, he made a “shocking” discovery.
“[I] found the turtle jammed under the front steps of the house. Clearly it had been there for some time… several hours, because it was exhausted [and] wasn’t moving at all. It was shocking… I pressed on it to see if it was still alive… and it let me know it was still alive,” he said.
He immediately sprung into action and contacted the DoE turtle team, the number for which he had stored on his phone.
He said on the second ring someone picked up and said they would assemble a team to head to North Side. They were in George Town at the time.
Battle against time
While he waited for DoE assistance, Miller said he knew he had to keep the turtle alive until they got to North Side.
“I collected buckets of seawater… and wet the turtle down, at which point it started to revive a bit more and look more alive and alert. I soaked a towel with seawater… but I couldn’t get it over all of the back because it was jammed up [under] the steps,” he said, but added he managed to cover most of the turtle.
Visiting turtle scientists Joe Roche and Alessandra Bielli arrived within an hour, he said. They got under the steps and did some tests. They also measured and tagged the turtle.
Miller said they began shovelling the sand to create a shelf for the turtle to fall into so it would be able to move and then they pushed it out.
“Once we started to help push it out, the turtle did most of the rest of the work with getting itself back down to the beach,” he said.
He’s seen tracks near the property quite a number of times, so it was not uncommon, Miller said.
What was strange was the way the tracks suddenly ended, which prompted him to investigate and eventually save the mother turtle.
“I want to shout out Joe and Alessandra from the DoE turtle team… they were a huge help and I couldn’t have done it without them,” he said.
The DoE, in a written comment to the Compass, thanked Miller, who it said “did the right thing by calling the DoE so our scientific team [could] assist her safely back to the water”.
“If property owners wish to ensure they are turtle-safe, they can speak to DoE about changing their exterior walkway and pool lights to Turtle Friendly bandwidth bulbs, ensure pools are blocked off from the beach with vegetation or other barrier and contact DoE prior to undertaking any building works. Email [email protected] to learn more about Turtle Friendly Lighting (TFL) and to ensure you are purchasing the correct kind,” the DoE advised.
The department also appealed to the public to report any turtles in distress by calling 938-6378 (NEST).
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