The unique track marks of the sea turtle tells a story to the volunteers who note the crawl marks carefully. They check to see if the tracks lead to a successful nest, or if the mother turtle made a "false crawl", turning around and returning to the sea. While she may hold her eggs through one or two false starts, eventually a mother turtle who is frustrated in her attempt to lay her eggs will just discharge them into the sea, where they never hatch at all.
Volunteer Opportunities for Turtle Rescue
Special thanks to Manuel Coleman and the Katelios Group for providing information on the steps in turtle rescue and providing photographs. Photos copyright 2004 The Katelios Group. Used by permission; all rights reserved.
