Tracking Bootes
About Tracking Bootes
Species:
Leatherback
Bootes is a leatherback sea turtle that was originally tagged on Juno Beach on May 20, 2002. During her first encounter over 20 years ago, she was satellite tracked from her nesting area in Florida to her foraging grounds off of North Carolina and Virginia. Since that first encounter in 2002, Bootes has been seen nesting on Juno Beach on 12 different occasions. She was weighed in late May of 2022 after laying her eggs, where she clocked in at 817 lbs. She was re-weighed in on April 5, 2024 and was 985 lbs. These fluctuations in body mass are typical of nesting sea turtles, as they do not eat during the nesting season. Bootes will likely lose weight as she continues to nest in 2024. In an effort to better understand “foraging site fidelity,” or loyalty to areas where these turtles feed, we re-attached a satellite transmitter to Bootes on April 14, 2024. We are excited to see where her journey takes her and if she will return to the Carolinas.
Tracking
Tag Date:
May 3, 2024
This project was funded in part by a grant awarded from the Sea Turtle Grants Program. The Sea turtle Grants Program is funded from proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate. Learn more at helpingseaturtles.org.
*All work was performed under Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit MTP-205. These maps do not constitute publication. All maps and data may not be used or referenced without expressed written consent from LMC.