/ / / /

Watch Florida's Baby Turtle-Hatching Livecam, Or Go See For Yourself

August 25, 2009 at 2:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Florida Keys Tourism Council is trying to raise awareness about the endangered Sea Turtles who nest on their beaches. And what better way to get people's attention than by letting them watch cute little turtle hatchlings emerge from the nest for the first time and find the ocean all on their own?

Every summer on Big Pine Key, in the lower Florida Keys, turtles crawl ashore at night to dig nests and lay about 100 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs. After covering them with sand, the turtles return to the water. Approximately two months later, the baby turtles are born.

Now, you can watch a webcam focused on one of these nests, which is due to hatch any minute. Head to www.fla-keys.com/turtlecam, and even at night you'll be able to spy on the nest via infrared camera. Once these turtles have hatched, the camera will be relocated to another nearby nest with eggs projected to hatch around September 9th.

We're guessing the residents of Big Pine Key love these live webcams since Deer Run Bed and Breakfast has their own live beach webcam too. Deer Run is one of the few lodges in Big Pine Key and has only four rooms with either ocean or garden views. But just because its small, doesn't mean it's lacking modern conveniences. All rooms feature free Wi-Fi and satellite Television.

Deer Run is also serious about being eco-friendly and was designated a State of Florida certified green lodge back in 2007. Their efforts have included installing a chemical-free salt water system in the pool and collecting rain water in barrels for irrigation. They also have a mandatory towel and linen reuse program in place so if you like a fresh towel every morning, you may want to bring a couple of your own. Their garden view room starts at $225—a small price to pay if you really love turtles.

Related Stories:
·The Florida Keys [Official Site]
·Big Pine Key [Official Site]
·Volunteer Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Nature's Crusaders]

Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Join the conversation!

Not a member? .