Sea Turtle nest vandalized on Captiva

The FWC encourages anyone with information to call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.

PARTICIPATE IN ONBOARDING ANDTEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITIES ATTHEIR NEW SCHOOLS.ITS SEA TURTLE NESTING SEASON,HUNDREDS OF TURTLES HAVE BEENLAYING THEIR EGGS ON OUR SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BEACHES SINCEAPRIL.UNFORTUNATELY SEVERAL NESTS HAVEBEEN VANDALIZED AFTER SOMEONEDROVE OVER THEM ON CAPTIVA.FOX 4’S MIANA MASSEY HAS THESTORY.:14-:21PKGI SPOKE WITH RYAN ORGERA OF THESanibel-Captiva ConservationFoundationWHO SAYS EARLIERTODAY THEY FOUND 6 SEA TURTLENESTS THAT APPEARED TO BE RUNOVER BY A GOLF CART."Unfortunately some of them habeen run over so squarely thatthe stakes had fallen this wasreally a disheartening event"SEA TURTLES ARE ENDANGEREDSPECIESORGERA SAYS THIS IS ASITUATION NOT TO BE TAKENLIGHTLY."sea turtles and state andfederally protected species, anddriving on the beach is notlegal"SO FAR, THIS IS A RECORDBREAKING LOGGERHEAD NESTINGSEASON WITH OVER 250 NESTS ONCAPTIVA.BUT FOR THESE HATCHLINGSRESEARCHERS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLETO ASSESS HOW MANY HAVESURVIVED."we wont know the extent of thedamage until the nests is readyto hatch"BOTH THE LEE COUNTY SHERIFFSOFFICE AND FLORIDA FISH ANDWILDLIFE ARE INVESTIGATING.IFCAUGHT THAT PERSON COULD FACECRIMINAL CHARGES, UP TO 50,000DOLLARS IN FINES AND UP TO AYEAR IN PRISON."this is more than a slap on thewrist this is a big deal"FORTUNATELY THE FOUNDATION SAYSTHESE TYPE OF INCIDENTS HAPPENFEW AND FAR BETWEEN."antagonistic behavior is notsomething that we generally see,but certainly someone doingsomething to endanger and hurtthe animals is not something weusually see luckily"IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION YOUARE URGED TO CALL THE FWC