Last night felt like deja vu since we had another two-turtle night on Juno! Both turtles were previously tagged and encountered earlier this season. The first turtle that our researchers encountered was Nerita, the largest turtle that we have seen this season! Nerita has been seen twice before by our team this season, once in April and once in May. We are still impressed by the turtle’s sheer size each time we see her!
The second turtle of the night was Mac, a turtle that was newly tagged earlier this season. Mac was actually spotted just last week nesting in broad daylight in MacArthur Beach State Park! Daytime nesting behavior is not entirely uncommon for leatherbacks, but it surely does not happen very often. We’re glad that Mac nested at night this time, since it’s cooler in the dark and nesting takes a lot of energy for a turtle!
Will tomorrow be another double-turtle night for us? Be sure to check back to find out!