Waiting by the Teleportation Tunnel for Stinky's arrival was always such an exciting time. Periwinkle couldn't wait till the moment he would tumble out of the Tunnel into her waiting paws. No sooner did she think that then he was there! They hugged, shared whisker kisses and paw pats for a while and, finally, Stinky asked what the plan for the day was. "We're headed to the beach" said Periwinkle.
The two hopped into Periwinkle's Mom's car, buckled up and set out for the beach.
They took some time to read the informational sign that told them about proper beach behavior.
"Stinky, please get down!! You know how nervous I get when you climb on things" she said. Stinky didn't want to upset Periwinkle so he jumped right down and promised to try to be good. Periwinkle rolled her eyes knowing how difficult that could be for him.
At the bottom of the steps, they saw the water safety "Throw Don't Go" flotation device station.
They spotted burds (sorry Tabbies)
Periwinkle continued: " It's estimated that only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood.Sea turtle hatchlings eat a variety of prey including things like mollusks and crustaceans, hydrozoans, sargassum seaweed, jellyfish, and fish eggs. Unfortunately, hatchlings also mistake garbage and objects like tar balls for food and ingest them. Hatchlings use the natural light horizon, which is usually over the ocean, along with the white crests of the waves to reach the water when they emerge from the nest. Any other light sources such as beachfront lighting, street lights, light from cars, campfires, etc. can lead hatchlings in the wrong direction, also known as disorientation."
The water looked inviting and Stinky couldn't resist a quick dip even though he got his furs wet.
All of a sudden, Periwinkle let out a very loud "OH MY COD, LOOK!" which made Stinky quickly get out of the water and run to her side. He was so excited when he saw what she was looking at.
Periwinkle spotted a turtle that had just hatched!
Always informed, Periwinkle had some facts about hatchlings to tell Stinky. "As the season rolls on, your chances of seeing hatchlings make their way to sea increase. Each species has a different egg incubation period (the time it takes the turtle to hatch), but generally, it can take anywhere between 45-75 days. Hatchlings tend to emerge from their nests in the dark and use the moonlight's reflection on the crashing waves to guide their return (which is why light pollution is so bad for them). An interesting fact is that it’s the temperature that determines the sex of the hatchlings. Warmer temperatures will result in female turtles, whereas colder temperatures produce males. Baby sea turtle tracks are also exciting to see, but difficult to detect if you don't know what you're looking for. Where they emerge from the nest looks kind of like a Ghost Crab burrow, but the tracks will wiggle out to the surf. "
Periwinkle continued: " It's estimated that only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood.Sea turtle hatchlings eat a variety of prey including things like mollusks and crustaceans, hydrozoans, sargassum seaweed, jellyfish, and fish eggs. Unfortunately, hatchlings also mistake garbage and objects like tar balls for food and ingest them. Hatchlings use the natural light horizon, which is usually over the ocean, along with the white crests of the waves to reach the water when they emerge from the nest. Any other light sources such as beachfront lighting, street lights, light from cars, campfires, etc. can lead hatchlings in the wrong direction, also known as disorientation."
Stinky got up close to one...
Periwinkle said her Mom always wanted to see turtles hatch but never had. She was glad they brought their cell phones so they could take photos for her Mom and Stinky's Mom.
They clapped their paws as they watched the little turtles rush to the ocean.
Stinky took a video too..
They couldn't wait to get back to Periwinkle's house to tell her Mom and fursibs their good luck in seeing turtles hatch so Periwinkle called her Mom and they headed back to her house.
After excitedly explaining their Adventure, the two snuggled into a cat bed to spend some time snuggling, whisker kissing and paw patting.
It was time for Stinky to leave. He thanked Periwinkle for their fun day. Periwinkle blushed and said she was glad they saw the turtles but there was no way she could have known they would see them.
One more quick whisker kiss and Stinky hopped into the Teleportation Tunnel and headed home. Periwinkle found a nice sun puddle and napped, dreaming of her handsome boyfriend and the fun day they just had.
