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Click here for tracking information on "Darwina"
Click here for the tracking information on "Eloise"
Dec. 27, 2006: Turtle tracking overview 2006
Seasons Greetings! As has become our tradition on Christmas Day, we have prepared an overview of this year’s satellite tracking activity and included our prior years’ work as well.
Our plans for 2006 called for us to track two turtles. Unfortunately due to some technical issues with a transmitter, some poor luck and some mistakes on our part, we only tracked one, ‘Heit’. In late November we had thought the last breeding female had left the area but in mid-December we were surprised to discover two other had arrived. We did manage to capture one, a female hawksbill, on December 15 right at sunset directly in front of the Divi Flamingo Hotel and were ready to deploy the second satellite transmitter. Upon closer examination of the turtle, it was very apparent that she was very old, not in good condition and she was released immediately.
At the same time, dive operators reported seeing the second hawksbill in the water near Harbor Village. Intensive efforts, including two nights on Klein Bonaire hoping she would come ashore to lay her eggs and two days of searching in the water from Small Wall to Harbor Village, were unsuccessful.

2005 and 2006 Satellite Tracking (click on the image to enlarge; opens in new window)
‘Heit’s track is the “pinkish” line in the lower right of the map above. As you can see comparing her path to all the others, she headed in a different and, at least for us, unexpected direction. In August, she arrived at her home foraging grounds in the Los Roques Archipelago approximately 180 km from Bonaire. In October, Mabel Nava, STCB Project Director and Gielmon “Funchi” Egbreghts, STCB Project Assistant. traveled for a one-week working session with their counterparts in Los Roques and attempted to retrieve ‘Heit’s transmitter. While the search for ‘Heit’ was unsuccessful, the trip provided an excellent opportunity to compare field techniques used by both projects, to learn from one another, and to establish a cooperative relationship in order to improve the protection of our sea turtles. The trip, funded by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), is the beginning of an ongoing collaborative effort between STCB and La Fundacion Cientifica Los Roques (FCLR).

2003 and 2004 Satellite Tracking (click on the image to enlarge; opens in new window)
As for 2007, current plans call for us to track two turtles. In November, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited Bonaire and agreed to sponsor a satellite transmitter for 2007. The turtle will be named for her eldest grandchild, Eloise. The other turtle will be named Darwin at the request of Karen and Ken Miller, our very patient and understanding sponsors for 2006. Again we want to also thank ‘Heit’s sponsors, Jeannette and Ria Heitkönig. Our best wishes to all for a happy holiday season and the best of New Years.
Sep. 20, 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
'Heit' is still swimming in the waters of the Los Roques Archipelagos and efforts to retrieve her satellite transmitter are on hold. Taking time away from her vacation in Venezuela, Mabel Nava, STCB Project Manager, met with staff from the Fundacion Cientifica Los Roques (FCLR), the organization in charge of managing Los Roques National Park, on Isla Margarita in early September. Unfortunately the timing was not right for a visit to Los Roques to hunt for 'Heit'. In the not too distant future, FCLR will begin doing in-water surveys and there is a very good chance that STCB will participate in the hopes of recovering 'Heit's satellite transmitter, exchanging information and exploring avenues for future cooperation.
The success of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire depends on the assistance and support of many people and organizations. There are many companies on Bonaire, the Netherlands and the U.S. that provide funding and/or donate services for which we are grateful. In our 2005 Progress Report, we failed to recognize one of our long-time supporters, NetTech N.V. NetTech N.V. has been donating both web-hosting and email services to STCB for many years now and is a valued sponsor of our work. Our apologizes to NetTech N.V. for the oversight.
Aug. 30., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
‘Heit’, our female hawksbill, has been traveling within the confines of the Los Roques Archipelago for over two weeks now and we assume that these are her home waters. ‘Heit’ left Bonaire sometime on August 6 and first entered the archipelago around August 13. In that time she swam approximately 230 km and is currently 180 km away from Klein Bonaire.
Mabel Nava, STCB Project Director, will be meeting with staff from the Fundacion Cientifica Los Roques (FCLR), the organization in charge of managing Los Roques National Park, later this week and will be traveling to Los Roques shortly thereafter. The goals of her trip will be to retrieve the satellite transmitter from ‘Heit’, if possible, and to start a dialogue between our respective organizations in the hopes that we can work together to better promote sea turtle conservation.
While we don’t expect to be generating any more tracking maps for ‘Heit’, we will keep you posted should she move. We will also inform you regarding Mabel’s efforts to recover the transmitter and her work with the FCLR. In October, we will be fitting another sea turtle with a satellite transmitter and sharing her journey with you.
Again, our thanks to ‘Heit’s sponsors, Jeannette and Ria Heitkönig.
Lastly, we would like to express our appreciation to Tony Kool for all his hard work in learning how to generate the satellite tracking updates and tracking ‘Heit’. Tony will be working on the tracking effort again this October. Without our network of volunteers here on Bonaire and elsewhere, we could not continue to run as successful a program as we now have in operation. Our thanks to you all.

Aug. 26., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
Our female hawksbill ‘Heit’ continues swimming in the waters of the Los Roques Archipelago. Today’s map will give you a better idea of what the archipelago and surrounding waters look like. Currently, ‘Heit’ is over 180 km from Klein Bonaire.
Of the five species of sea turtles that live in the waters of Venezuela, four are present in the Los Roques Archipelago. The four species found in Los Roques are the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea). The most abundant species is the Hawksbill and Los Roques represents the most important nesting area in the country for this species.
La Fundacion Cientfifica Los Roques (FCLR) has been doing conservation and recovery programs of the turtle populations from Los Roques for the last 28 years. Their work has been focused on the recovery of the sea turtle populations by means of two basic activities: hatchling captivity and releasing to avoid poaching. In the last 25 years they have rescued hundreds of nests, releasing more than 12,000 juvenile turtles and reducing the mortality rate during their pelagic stage. In 1999, the FCLR turtle recovery effort was expanded into a full project and now encompasses five component activities that complement each other: community outreach, education, research, conservation and promotion.
As mentioned in our last newsletter, STCB is now in contact with the FCLR and our current thinking is that if ‘Heit’ is indeed home, we will attempt to locate her and remove her transmitter as soon as possible.
Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire’s mission is to ensure the protection and recovery of Bonaire’s sea turtle populations throughout their range. A Range State is a nation that shares management responsibility for “Bonaire’s” sea turtles. Sea turtles are highly mobile, moving extensively during their juvenile stages from one “developmental habitat” to another, and as we have seen via our satellite tracking, eventually settling into a long distance migration between an adult resident foraging ground and a preferred nesting ground which may be several hundred and or even several thousand kilometers apart. These movements typically embrace several States, meaning that no one State can fully protect “their” sea turtle resource; cooperation and collaboration are necessary. STCB hopes to build an ongoing, working relationships with the FCLR to enhance the protection of the sea turtles colonies from Bonaire and to improve global sea turtle conservation management policies.
We would also like to apologize for incorrectly identifying one of ‘Heit’s sponsors and express our appreciation for the support given by Jeannette and Ria Heitkönig.

Aug. 23., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
We now are convinced that ‘Heit’ is ‘home’. We show you a close-up of where she has been for about the last week. Here some information about Los Roques Archipelago National Park The Los Roques Archipelago is the largest coral reef formation in Venezuela with a total area of 1500 square km. It is formed by two barrier coral reefs: The oriental reef (24 km) and the southern barrier reef (30 km), 42 keys, 300 sand banks and other small reef formations that form a natural pool area of shallow turquoise waters. Thanks to the quality of its waters Los Roques has one of the highest biodiversity of the Atlantic. Its coral reefs, mangroves areas, extensive areas of sea grasses, numerous migratory bird species are some of the reasons why it is considered one of the most privileged and best kept places in the world. Los Roques received the status of National Park in August 1972. It is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, close to La Orchila and Las Aves archipelagos in the northern part of Venezuela (North 11.42’/12.04’ and West 66.30’/67.02’). The organization in charge of managing Los Roques National Park is the Fundacion Cientifica Los Roques (FCLR), a non- profit organization. Since 1976, this organization, as part of the conservation efforts, has developed a program for the protection of their sea turtle populations. STCB has contacted FCLR to alert them about ‘Heit’ and to start building a working relationship between our two organizations. In our next release we will provide more information about the turtles of Los Roques and sharing highlights of their work with you. Of course we will also let you know about ‘Heit’!

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Aug. 20., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
‘Heit’ is likely in a place she knows very well. Today’s information shows that she hardly moves al all. We will wait a few days, and see if she is making a move. As soon as she does we will resume our updates.

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Aug. 19., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
Today we received only one signal we could use. According to this, ‘Heit’ is now only about 7 km from the spot she was yesterday. We should remember that when the turtles are finished nesting, they will be stopping along the way to feed. So, maybe one of these days...

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Aug. 18., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
Today we received two signals an they showed very little movement. ‘Heit’ is resting? Today’s tidbit: There are approximately 1800 permanent inhabitants of Los Roques,. And there are between 50 000 and 60 000 visitors annually to the archipelago.

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Aug. 17., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
Yesterday we did not receive any signals we could use. ‘Heit’ moved in the last 48 hours approximately 45 km. First East to West and than West to East? As of today she swam about 400 km , since leaving Bonaire, but is only 200 km from Bonaire. She may have found some thing what she likes near Los Roques. These Islands are located about 168 km North of La Guaira, harbor to Caracas.

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Aug. 15., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
Our female hawksbill ‘Heit’ moved today about 25 km east. She is in the area of Los Roques. We are still wondering where she will go next. This truly is a new track for us. She now is approximately 185 km from Klein Bonaire. ‘Heit’ is a female hawksbill, weighs about 72 kilos and measures 83.8 cm.

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Aug. 14., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'
Our turtle ‘Heit’ is on a track we have not tracked any turtle earlier. She is now close to Islas Los Roques. ‘Heit’ was tagged in 2004 near Klein Bonaire. Yesterday ‘Heit’ swam 65 km and today only about 16 km. She now is approximately 160 km from Klein Bonaire.

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Aug. 11., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit' is on the move!
It looks like ‘Heit’ finally is on the move. For four days she has been moving in a south easterly direction. The signals are not very strong, but we feel confident that the tracks are correct. At this moment she moved approximately 120 km away from Klein Bonaire.

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Aug. 5., 2006: 'Heit'
‘Heit’, our female hawksbill turtle, is still with us and swimming around Klein Bonaire. ‘Heit’ was first fitted with her transmitter back on 13 July. At that time it was thought that she would lay at least one more nest and possibly more. Hawksbill’s nest at intervals of approximately 14 days and it is quite likely she will be with us for a while longer. |
Jul.
15., 2006: Satellite Tracking of Turtles from Bonaire starts with Release
of Adult Female Hawksbill
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STCBs Funchi Egbreghts and BNMP Manager Ramon de Leon
release Heit at Ebos Special at Klein Bonaire |
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To adequately
protect sea turtles in all their habitats, we must learn more about their
migratory patterns, their behavior at sea, and where their marine habitats
are located. This is where the technology of satellite telemetry becomes
useful and important in protecting sea turtles. Sea Turtle Conservation
Bonaire (STCB) plans to place up to two transmitters on turtles in 2006.
On July 13, the first of these transmitters was attached on a large adult
female hawksbill turtle. This animal was found resting on the reef in
the area of Ebos Special close to the nesting beach at Klein Bonaire,
caught by STCB staff and lifted on board the research boat Nancy
Too for transmitter attachment. Assisting the STCB staff and other
volunteers was Ramon de Leon, Manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park
(BNMP).
The female
hawksbill has a shell length of 83.8 cm and weighs 72 kg. This turtle
was originally tagged on Klein Bonaire in 2004. Female sea turtles do
not reproduce every year; they usually take between two to four years
to return to nest. The turtle remained calm throughout the transmitter
application procedures. After fitting the transmitter, the turtle was
released back at where she had been found.
Tracking
of this female hawksbill is made possible by a full sponsorship provided
by Ria & Janet Heitkönig of Bonaire. The sponsors named the turtle
Heit after their father. (See the accompanying story provided
by Ria & Janet below.) Heit is expected tol remain near
Klein Bonaire as it is thought she will possibly lay one or two more nests
before departing for her feeding grounds.
Satellite
tracking works through signals sent out by the transmitter, which is switched
on whenever the turtle comes to the surface to breathe. These transmissions
are then collected by Argos system receivers onboard weather satellites
that circle the globe, yielding location data for each turtle that are
e-mailed daily to STCB. Turtle locations are mapped frequently and available
on our website located at www.bonaireturtles.org.
Sea Turtle
Conservation Bonaire exists to ensure the protection and recovery of Bonaire's
sea turtle populations throughout their range. Founded in 1992, STCB is
a Bonaire-based, non-governmental and non-profit organization, part of
the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network.
In Honour
of Heit
In honour
of our late father, Jules Heitkönig, known on Bonaire as Heit, we
decided to sponsor a sea turtle.
Heit made
a living by selling souvenirs in the fifties and onward. Since he was
a goldsmith, he designed jewellery, for instance golden flamingos on pieces
of the shell of the Caret (Hawksbill turtle) in rings, pendants, earrings
etc. In 1955, he was approached by the Government to design special Caret
jewellery to be given to Queen Juliana during her visit and later on also
for the Dutch princesses different designs.
Heit was
one of the first nature protectors on Bonaire, since he did not want people
to catch very young and little turtles and he was the first one to stop
the Caret business, when the turtles became scarce. He once created a
natural environment for the Kawama eggs (Loggerhead turtle) in our garden.
A large sand heap from where a wooden duckboard led to a water basin.
One night there was great consternation; the turtles hatched and instead
of heading to the basin, they strolled through the yard and tried to make
it to the sea. The whole event was filmed and we hope to see that movie
some day. Heit kept four of these Loggerhead hatchlings and when they
grew big enough, he joined them with his pet Green turtles and Hawksbill
turtles, which swam in another larger basin. Among these Loggerheads was
Heits beloved turtle Max, which he trained and used to take for
a swim. Max, weighing around 75 kg, was transported in the back of the
car to different locations. He swam freely with our father and always
came back. Once he warned my father for the presence of a shark. Max came
to take shelter close to him and kept watching up. When Heit looked in
that direction he discovered a huge shark circling around. Heit also used
to tell, that Max saved his life when during a swim, he got his heart
attack, the turtle bringing him ashore.
Heit usually
bought fish from the local children to feed the turtles and he let them
watch and enjoy the beautiful animals, which daily gobbled down a lot
of fish. Many grown-ups on Bonaire still have nice memories of the turtles
in our garden and even nowadays mention it!
In the early
fifties there was an article on our father and his turtles in LIFE Magazine.
Because he was a real turtle lover, we decided to adopt a turtle, and
to name it after him: Heit.
Lets
hope, that Heit makes a nice, long journey in the Caribbean Sea!
Jeannette
and Ria Heitkönig
Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles |
Mar.
21., 2006: Turtle Tracking Study 2005
As in 2004,
four adult turtles were satellite-tracked from Bonaire in 2005. Two female
hawksbills, ‘Jenni’ and ‘Mariposita’, a male hawksbill,
‘Albert’, and a female loggerhead, ‘Happy’, were
fitted with transmitters. The objectives of this study are to identify
the locations where turtles breeding at Bonaire live outside the nesting
season, and to learn the routes that these animals take to reach their
potentially distant foraging grounds. Increasing our understanding of
the movements of “our” animals helps identify priorities for
conservation actions benefiting sea turtles.
Transmitters
used in this study are model ST-20 made by Telonics (Mesa Arizona, U.S.A.),
with a saltwater on-off switch so that the transmitter turns on only when
the turtle is at the surface, and duty-cycled to extend battery life.
Attachment to the carapace is with fiberglass tape covered with resin.
Turtle tracking works through signals sent out by the transmitter, which
is switched on whenever the turtle comes to the surface to breathe. These
transmissions are then collected by Argos system receivers onboard weather
satellites that circle the globe, yielding location data for each turtle
that are e-mailed daily to us. Turtle location data are then plotted on
digital maps and sent out whenever deemed newsworthy.
‘Albert’ was the first turtle fitted with a transmitter in
2005 and was named in honor of one of the founding members of Sea Turtle
Conservation Bonaire, Albert de Soet. ‘Albert’ was caught
off Ebo’s Reef, Klein Bonaire on June 9 and brought aboard our boat,
Nancy Too. ‘Albert’ was tag and measured (83.1 cm SCL) and
his weight was estimated at 94 kg. After approximately 2 hours, he was
released back into the water where he had been taken, wearing his transmitter.
He did not leave Bonaire until November 7 and based on our experience
with ‘Tom’ last year, there was concern that his signal would
be lost before he made it back to his home foraging grounds. ‘Albert’s
westerly journey took him 20 days and he swam some 1530 km to get to his
home on an unmanned bank approximately 260 km off the coast of Honduras
and over 1420 km from Bonaire. His location is in the same general area
as that of three of the turtles we tracked in 2004. Amazingly, the two
other hawksbills we tracked this year also ended up on the same unnamed
bank! ‘Albert’s transmitter was sponsored by the cruise ship
Freewinds.
‘Happy’
was the second turtle fitted with a transmitter, but the first we tracked.
This adult female loggerhead was caught near the Southwest Corner dive
site off Klein Bonaire in approximately 15 meters of water on the evening
of June 24 and brought aboard our boat for transmitter placement. Within
two hours the turtle was released near the point of capture. ‘Happy’
measured 99 cm SCL and weighed an estimated 130 kg. Five days later, on
June 29, ‘Happy’ headed due north across the Caribbean toward
the Dominican Republic and then turned east toward Puerto Rico. ‘Happy’
ended her migration in the Vieques Passage between Puerto Rico and the
island of Vieques. Until this time it was thought that Puerto Rico did
not have a resident population of loggerheads. It took ‘Happy’
20 days to travel home having first entered the Vieques Passage on July
18. To reach her destination she swam over 1100 km and she ended up approximately
735 km from Klein Bonaire. ‘Happy’ was sponsored by the Rotterdam
Zoo.
The third
turtle to be fitted with a transmitter during 2005 was a large female
hawksbill turtle nesting at No Name Beach on Klein Bonaire. Based on the
pattern of hawksbill turtle nesting activity observed on Klein Bonaire
during the prior few weeks, STCB staff predicted the possible return of
a hawksbill turtle to the beach on Wednesday or Thursday night, October
12 or 13. A field team consisting of Fernando Simal (Manager, Washington-Slagbaai
National Park, STINAPA), Patricia Gorrin (film crew), Gielmon “Funchi"
Egbreghts and Mabel Nava (STCB), set out each night to monitor No Name
Beach. On Thursday at around 9:15 pm, ‘Jenni’ was discovered
on the beach digging a nest. As soon as she began laying eggs she was
measured (93.6 cm SCL) and tagged on her front flippers. An hour later,
after she finished her nesting activity, the approximately 130 kg turtle
was intercepted by the team on her way towards the sea and a transmitter
applied to the top of her carapace. At 12:30 am, ‘Jenni’ was
released and she quickly departed into the calm waters off Klein Bonaire.
On October 20, less than one week after being fitted with her transmitter,
‘Jenni’ departed Bonaire in a northwesterly direction, eventually
swimming west en route to her home. ‘Jenni’s path was quite
circuitous and she stayed at several different sites for extended periods
during her migration. Her journey took 47 days and she traveled well over
2000 km. She shares her home foraging area with ‘Albert’ and
while we can’t say that we literally saw their paths cross, their
satellite-plotted paths did intersect. ‘Jenni’s transmitter
was sponsored by Michael and Jenni Stanfield.
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Figure 5. Mariposita and STCB staff “Funchi” |
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The fourth
turtle to be tracked was the last known breeding turtle of the season,
a female hawksbill turtle nesting on Klein Bonaire. Working into the early
hours of Thursday, October 27, a team of STCB staff members and volunteers
released ‘Mariposita’ at 2:45 am, after affixing a satellite
transmitter to her carapace. The turtle came ashore at No Name Beach,
Klein Bonaire at approximately 9:15 pm the previous evening to lay a nest.
‘Mariposita’ is the smallest adult female we have observed
nesting on Bonaire and we think she is quite young. She measured only
80 cm (SCL) and her weight was estimated to be only 60 kg. Typically it
takes anywhere from 15 to 30 years for a hawksbill to reach maturity.
Students from the local high school, SGB, submitted names for this turtle
as part of the year-long sea turtle conservation education campaign initiated
by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and conducted by STINAPA
and STCB. The winning name was submitted by freshman Angelina Maria Julia
Rodriguez. ‘Mariposita’ is Spanish for ‘Little Butterfly,
an absolutely perfect name for this tiny hawksbill. ‘Mariposita’
arrived at her home feeding grounds around Christmas Day, traveling some
44 days. In that period of time she covered almost 1600 km and was 1450
km from Bonaire. ‘Mariposita’s transmitter was sponsored by
the Rotterdam Zoo.
If the proximity
of ‘Albert’ and ‘Jenni’ to one another was not
evidence enough, the fact that ‘Mariposita’s last recorded
position was within 60 km of them certainly underscores the importance
of the western Caribbean to Bonaire’s breeding population. Three
of our 2004 turtles also ended up in the same general area. One of the
major goals of our 2006-2010 Strategic Plan is to work with the Range
States (nations that share management responsibility for Bonaire’s
sea turtles) to help protect “our” turtles.
Back in 2003,
we tracked a female hawksbill named ‘Schillie’ back to Mona
Island off Puerto Rico. This year, ‘Schillie’ was recaptured
and her transmitter removed by Robert van Dam, the former STCB Project
Director, while he was working on another project off Mona Island. Subsequently,
‘Tom,’ the male hawksbill whose signal we lost in 2004, was
recaptured right here off Klein Bonaire by STCB staff. His transmitter
was also removed. In our 2004 Progress Report it was noted that males
may return to Bonaire each year to mate and that appears to be confirmed
with the recapture of ‘Tom’. Tests of the two transmitters
indicated that the batteries were still functioning but on both units
the antenna was missing. Both transmitters will be shipped back to the
manufacturer for refurbishing and be used in the 2006 tracking project.

^ Figure
6. Tracks outbound from Bonaire for the four turtles tracked during 2005.
The turtle
tracking study continued to attract lots of public attention to our turtles,
with lots of press coverage both on Bonaire and elsewhere. Whenever turtles
were moving, tracking updates were produced and sent via our new E-Newsletter
to the press and whoever else expressed interest. As a result, several
sponsors have already been identified for our 2006 tracking project. |
UPDATE JAN 6, 2006:
'MARIPOSITA'
'Mariposita’,
our Little Butterfly, is still in the same general area and in all likelihood
at her home foraging grounds. She first arrived at her current location
back on Christmas Day, traveling some 44 days to reach it. In that period
of time she covered almost 1600 km and is now 1450 km from Bonaire. Amazingly,
‘Mariposita’ is within 60 km of the last recorded positions
for 'Jenni’ and ‘Albert’, two of the three other sea
turtles we tracked during the 2005 nesting season. We lost 'Albert’s
transmitter signal on January 3rd. Unless ‘Mariposita’ starts
moving again this concludes our Satellite Tracking Updates for 2005, but
we will continue to send out newsletters when appropriate. Sea Turtle
Conservation Bonaire would like to thank the sponsors of this year’s
effort. They are: the Rotterdam Zoo, the cruise ship Freewinds, and Michael
and Jenni Stanfield. If any of you are interested in learning more about
sponsoring a sea turtle for 2006, please contact us. We would also like
to thank all of you for your interest and continued support.
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UPDATE DEC 31,
2005: 'MARIPOSITA'
'Mariposita’
is in the same general area as last reported. This nautical chart will
give you a better idea about the topography of the area. She is on the
same shallow bank that ‘Jenni’ and ‘Albert’ share
and is approximately 60 km due north of ‘Albert’s last recorded
position. (We are still receiving signals from ‘Albert’.)
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UPDATE DEC 29,
2005: 'MARIPOSITA'
The quality and quantity of signals from ‘Mariposita’
have been less than optimum, and at times, the data received somewhat
confusing, but it seems that ‘Mariposita’ has made her way
onto the relatively shallow ledge that extents all the out from the coast
of Honduras and Nicaragua. She appears to be meandering along the edge
much like ‘Albert’ and ‘Jenni’ did not so long
ago. She is approximately 50 km north of ‘Albert’s position,
245 km from the coast of Honduras and over 1440 km from Klein Bonaire.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
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UPDATE
DEC 25, 2005: Overview of the year’s satellite tracking activity
2005
Satellite tracking
Seasons Greetings!
As we did last Christmas Day, we have prepared an overview of the year’s
satellite tracking activity showing the paths of our four sea turtles.
We are also sending along a map of 2003 and 2004 as well.
‘Mariposita’
seems to be moving west again. We have received very limited data from
her for the last several days but a signal received yesterday and confirmed
with a preliminary signal received early this morning, has her off the
Rosalind Bank and back on the bank where ‘Jenni’ spent so
much time. It is quite possible that she is home and simply spends time
between the two banks - the banks are only 20 km apart. We’ll continue
to track her movements and let you know.
» click
on the image to enlarge (opens in a new window). |

2003 and 2004 Satellite Tracking
» click
on the image to enlarge (opens in a new window).

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UPDATE
DEC 22, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
| We stopped
receiving signals from 'Jenni' five days ago. Her final signals placed her
still at the unnamed bank with 'Albert'. Surprisingly, we continue to receive
signals from 'Albert' in spite of the fact that he was fitted with his transmitter
in June, some four months before 'Jenni' received hers. |

We have received a limited number of signals from ‘Mariposita’
in the last couple of days. They place her still at the Rosalind Bank.
She has been there since December 5 and the Rosalind Bank is, in all likelihood,
her final destination. We will keep an eye on her for a while longer and
keep you posted if she moves.
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UPDATE
DEC 19, 2005: 'MARIPOSITA'

What little data we are receiving from ‘Mariposita’ is not
very good. Yesterday’s data has her moving west and then backtracking
to the Rosalind Bank.
Every
satellite transmitter attached to a sea turtle has a salt-water switch
consisting of two metal contact points. When the satellite transmitter
is underwater, an electric current is able to flow between the metal contact
points through the water. This tells the transmitter that it is underwater
so it should not send transmissions to the satellites. Every time the
turtle surfaces to breathe, one or both of the metal contact points come
out of the water and the electric current can no longer run between them.
This tells the transmitter to start transmitting to the satellites. ARGOS
receivers on the satellites get the signals and the location of the transmitter
is calculated. Accuracy is determined as one of 5 different classes called
location classes. Accuracy of individual locations received from the ARGOS
system vary depending on the number of messages received from the transmitter,
environmental conditions and the relative positions of the transmitter
and satellites. See the table below for the location classes. In spite
of the apparent inaccuracy of some of the location classes, with an adequate
number of data points we are able to analyze them in relation to one another
and make determinations regarding direction and distance. For the last
several days we have been receiving only one or two signals from ‘Mariposita’
and they have been either location classes A, B or Z.

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UPDATE
DEC 16, 2005: 'MARIPOSITA'

After spending 11-days on the Rosalind Bank, ‘Mariposita’ is
once more on the move. She is traveling to the northwest, swimming at a
daily rate of approximate 60 km. She is over 1420 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE DEC 14, 2005:
'JENNI'
 ‘Jenni’ first arrived at here current location some 10 days
ago. It appears that she is finally home. She is sharing the unnamed bank
with ‘Albert’, our male hawksbill. Data from the last week shows
their paths crossing a number of times. ‘Jenni’
was fitted with her transmitter on October 13 and she left Bonaire a week
later. Her journey took some 47 days and she traveled well over 2000 km.
She is over 1425 km from Bonaire. |
UPDATE DEC 11, 2005:
'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
 ‘Albert’, our male hawksbill, is still swimming over the same
unnamed bank. He first arrived at this location back on November 26, approximately
two-weeks ago, and he is most likely at his home foraging grounds.‘Albert’
was fitted with his satellite transmitter all the way back on June 9. When
he stayed so long off Klein Bonaire, there was concern that we would lose
his signal before getting home. He is approximately 260 km off the coast
of Honduras and over 1420 km from Bonaire. His journey took him 20 days
and he swam some 1530 km to get home. It is very likely we will see ‘Albert’
back at Bonaire next year.Good job, ‘Albert’ and thanks.
Both our female hawksbills
'Jenni' and 'Mariposita' are still at their last recorded locations. |
UPDATE DEC 10, 2005:
'MARIPOSITA'
 ‘Mariposita’, our female hawksbill, is still swimming over the
Rosalind Bank. It is very probable that she will continue to follow ‘Jenni’s
path and head in-shore. ‘Jenni’ spent 6 days foraging over the
Rosalind Bank so ‘Mariposita’ may stay one or more days before
moving on. If and when she resumes her travels, we will let you know. |
UPDATE
DEC 9, 2005: 'MARIPOSITA'

Only a couple of signals from ‘Mariposita’ but they place her
still on the Rosalind Bank. |
UPDATE
DEC 8, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

 ‘Jenni’ & ‘Albert’ are still
over the same unnamed bank and their paths have actually crossed. Our best
guess is that this is their home feeding area and we will only be reporting
on them if they start traveling again. |
 ‘Mariposita’ is still on the Rosalind Bank and is probably spending
most of her time foraging for food. |
UPDATE
DEC 7, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
 ‘Jenni’ is still in the same location as yesterday. She is approximately
1425 km from Klein Bonaire. No signals were received from ‘Mariposita’
and ‘Albert’. |
UPDATE
DEC 6, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
 ‘Jenni’ and ‘Albert’ are now separated by less than
20 km. ‘Mariposita’
slowed considerably and is now traveling at a rate of approximately 37 km
per day. Rather than move in-shore or to the Serranilla Bank, she headed
north and is now right off the Rosalind Banks. ‘Jenni’ spent
considerable time over this bank earlier. ‘Mariposita’ is now
approximately 1370 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
DEC 5, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Simply amazing! ‘Jenni’ has continued traveling south and is
now only 25 km or so from ‘Albert’. Both are now swimming over
an un-named bank that has an average depth of about 25 m. ‘Albert’
has been in the same general location for a number of days now and it is
quite possible that he calls the area his home. Given how wrong we were
about ‘Jenni’, we will continue to closely monitor his movements.
‘Albert’ is approximately 1420 km from Klein Bonaire and ‘Jenni’
is about 1420 km away.
‘Mariposita’
slowed again yesterday, traveling at a rate of approximately 65 km per
day. Her path is paralleling ‘Jenni’s, but it is not clear
if she will continue to the west or head for the Serranilla Bank, now
just 20 km to her east. (The Serranilla Bank is home to ‘Funny’,
one of the hawksbills we tracked in 2004.) ‘Mariposita’ is
now over 1360 km from Klein Bonaire and only about 90 km from ‘Albert’
and ‘Jenni’.
On today’s
map you will note that we have also included the positions of our 2004
sea turtles that traveled to this area: ‘Extra’, STINAPA’
and ‘Funny’. In the upper left-hand corner of the map, we
have inserted an outline of the Caribbean with the section of our tracking
map and Bonaire highlighted to add a sense of scale to these remarkable
journeys. |
UPDATE
DEC 4, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Only one tracking map for today but it shows all of our turtles within a
stones throw of one another.
'Jenni' and 'Albert' continue to swim right along the edge of the shallow
shelf that extends from the coast of Honduras and are within 60 km of one
each other. "Jenni' is approximately 1460 km from Klein Bonaire and
'Albert' is 1420 km away.
'Mariposita' is swimming over deep water and holding a fairly steady pace.
Yesterday her rate of travel was approximately 70 km per day. She is only
about 125 km from 'Albert' and 155 km from 'Jenni'. She is over 1300 km
from Klein Bonaire.
(Due to limitations in the software, not all data points are plotted for
each of our turtles.) |
UPDATE
DEC 3, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
UPDATE DEC 2, 2005:
'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
UPDATE DEC 1, 2005:
'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
UPDATE NOV 30, 2005:
'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Much to our surprise, ‘Jenni’ is on the move once again. It
appears that she started moving early on November 28 and has traveled some
50 plus km to the north. She is currently just south of Thunder Knoll and
approximately 1490 km from Klein Bonaire. |
Limited
and confusing data from ‘Albert’ once again and once again
we will have to wait before issuing another tracking map. |
 ‘Mariposita’ continues to move to the west. Her rate of travel
has remained steady. She is now over 1000 km from Klein Bonaire and some
650 km from the coast of Honduras. |
UPDATE
NOV 29, 2005: 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Once again, a very limited amount of data from ‘Albert’ but
it has him in the same general location. Currently, he is 245 km off the
coast of Honduras and 1430 km from Klein Bonaire. |
 ‘Mariposita’ continues to move in a generally westerly direction.
She is swimming quite a bit faster than yesterday. Her rate of travel is
over 90 km per day and is now approximately 930 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 28, 2005: 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
Only
two data points from ‘Albert’ for yesterday and they were
not very good. We’ll wait for some better data before issuing another
tracking map for him. The best guess is that he is continuing north. |

It appears that ‘Mariposita’ is once again moving to the west.
Her rate of travel for yesterday was approximately 63 km per day. She is
about 830 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 27, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

The last good signal received from ‘Jenni’ has her in the same
location. We have obtained a nautical chart of the area which provides some
additional information about ‘Jenni’s home. The bank is un-named
and in at least two places may come to within 7 plus meters of the surface.
The average depth of the bank is about 27 meters and the bottom appears
to be comprised of sand and coral. Since this chart and other maps we have
seen do not indicated any name for the bank, henceforth, we will refer to
it at as Jenni’s Bank. Many thanks to Jan Kloos for the charts and
suggesting the name. |

‘Albert’, our male hawksbill, is now traveling to the north
and is swimming over the edge of the shallow shelf that extends approximately
250 km off the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua. He has picked up some
speed and is traveling at a rate of over 65 km per day. ‘Albert’
is now about 1410 km from Klein Bonaire. As you can see from the map,
this area is extremely important to the breeding population of Bonaire.
The last known locations of three of the turtles we tracked in 2004, ‘Extra’,
‘STINAPA’ and ‘Funny’, as well as one from this
year, ‘Jenni’, are noted on today’s tracking map.
|

Only one usable signal from ‘Mariposita’ yesterday and it shows
her turning to the northwest. She is currently over 740 km from Klein Bonaire.
Will she follow ‘Jenni’ and ‘Albert’ or will she
swim northwest to Jamaica, the Caymans or possibly Cuba? We will keep you
posted. |
UPDATE
NOV 26, 2005: 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

‘Albert’ continues to move to the northwest. He has slowed
to approximately 47 km per day and he is currently in water over a 1000
m deep. ‘Albert’ is now about 1350 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Our tiny butterfly, ‘Mariposita’ is still swimming west. She
slowed slightly and her speed is approximately 67 km per day. She is over
710 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 25, 2005: 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Our male hawksbill ‘Albert’ has turned to the northwest. His
speed has increased to approximately 86 km per day and he is 1310 km from
Klein Bonaire.
|
 ‘Mariposita’ is still swimming west. She has increased her speed
to approximately 72 km per day. She is approximately 650 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 24, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
New signals
received from ‘Jenni’ place her in the same location pretty
much confirming that the un-named bank to the southeast of Thunder Knoll
is her home foraging area. |

Our male hawksbill ‘Albert’ has turned to the southwest and
decreased his speed. Yesterday he traveled at a rate of approximately
64 km for the day. ‘Albert’ is about 240 km southeast of ‘Jenni’s
location and approximately 1220 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
 ‘Mariposita’, our female hawksbill, continues swimming to the
west. For the third consecutive day, she has slowed and is now traveling
at a rate of about 56 km per day. She is slightly over 580 km from Klein
Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 23, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
For the
third consecutive day, no useable data was received from ‘Jenni’.
For now, we will assume that she is home. If she starts moving again,
we will alert you. ‘Jenni’ swam over 1600 km in 30 days to
reach her destination. Attempts
to obtain additional information about her location have been unsuccessful
but we will continue looking. We will keep you posted. |

Albert’ has increased his speed once again and is now traveling
at a rate of over 100 km per day. He continues to swim to the west and
is now approximately 1185 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
 ‘Mariposita’ is still moving west. She slowed down again and
is now traveling at a rate of about 63 km per day. She is approximately
530 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 22, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
Once again,
no usable data was received from ‘Jenni’. |

Albert’ has increased his speed once again, and is now traveling
at a rate of 85 km per day. He is still moving west and is now approximately
1100 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
 ‘Mariposita’ slowed down significantly and is now traveling
at a rate of 72 km per day. She is headed toward the west. She is approximately
485 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE NOV 21, 2005:
'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
No signals
were received from ‘Jenni’. We are still attempting to obtain
information about her last recorded location. |

Albert’ picked up some speed yesterday, moving at a rate of
80 km per day. He still moving west and is now approximately 1010 km from
Klein Bonaire.
|
 ‘Mariposita’ increased her speed once again and is now traveling
at a rate of 98 km per day. She appears to be turning slightly to the northwest.
She is approximately 410 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 20, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Signals from ‘Jenni’ have her in the same locale for the last
several days increasing the likelihood that she is indeed home. We will
make some inquires to learn more about the area. ‘Jenni’ is
1450 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Albert’ has slowed once again and his rate of travel for yesterday
was about 70 km per day. He continues in a generally westerly direction
and is approximately 930 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Our tiny female hawksbill, ‘Mariposita’, is still traveling
west and has once again increased her pace. She is now swimming at a rate
of 52 km per day and is approximately 315 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 19, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Only one good data point was received from Jenni yesterday
and it places her in the same general location. It is very possible that
she has arrived at her home foraging grounds. We are uncertain whether
the shallow area she is traveling over is actually part of Thunder Knoll
or not. If she is in fact at home, we will make inquires in Honduras and
learn more about the area.
|

Albert, our male hawksbill, swam to the northwest yesterday.
He slowed slightly and is now traveling at a rate of approximately 94
km per day. He is approximately 880 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

'Mariposita continues to move west. She has increased her daily rate
of travel to 48 km per day. She is now over 260 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 18, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'
No useable
data was received from Jenni. Obviously she is not spending
much time on the surface. Hopefully tomorrows data will be better. |

Albert is still moving to the west. He has picked up his pace
and traveled almost 100 km yesterday. He is now approximately 790 km from
Klein Bonaire.
|

It appears Mariposita is moving in a westerly direction. She
is maintaining a constant rate of 40 km per day, and she is now 220 km from
Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 17, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Once again the signals from Jenni are not the best. It is
difficult to tell if she is still moving to the southwest and on to the
shallow shelf that extends off the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua or
going to stay where she is at Thunder Knoll. She is approximately 1450
km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Our male hawksbill, Albert is still heading west. Yesterday
he traveled over 75 km and is now over 690 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Our other female
hawksbill, Mariposita, is moving to the northwest, traveling
at a steady but slow pace. Shes still moving at a rate of 40 km per
day and is now approximately 180 from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 16, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Jenni has once again moved off the Rosalind Bank. She is now
headed to the southwest and is approximately 280 km from the coast of
Honduras. She is over 1440 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Albert is continuing on in a westerly direction and is now
approximately 610 km from Klein Bonaire. Hes traveling at a rate
of approximately 100 per day.
|
 Maripositas
general direction is to the northwest but she may be starting to swing to
the west. She has slowed down a bit and is now traveling at a rate of approximately
40 km per day. She is almost 130 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 15, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Only one usable data point was received for Jenni and it places
her back on the Rosalind Bank. Obviously she is not spending a lot of
time at the surface and is probably foraging for food.
|

Albert is still swimming to the west. His rate of travel has
slowed once again to approximately 80 km per day. He is now over 510 km
from Klein Bonaire.
|
 Mariposita is moving away from Bonaire to the northwest. While
she has increased her speed a bit, she is still only swimming at a rate
of 48 km per day. She is just about 100 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE
NOV 14, 2005: 'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

The data being received for Jenni is not the best and is pretty
confusing. Sorting through it, a best guess is that she has moved off
the Rosalind Bank in a southwesterly direction. The next day or so will
tell if the interpretation of the data was correct. Yesterday, Jenni
swam at a rate of approximately 48 km for the day and is currently 1410
km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Our male hawksbill, Albert, is continuing on toward the west.
His speed has slowed slightly to approximately 93 km for the day. He is
now over 435 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Sometime early Saturday morning after laying her second nest of the season,
our little butterfly, Mariposita, a female hawksbill, decided
to head home. Traveling very slowly, she is moving in a northerly direction
and is approximately 35 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE NOV 13, 2005:
'JENNI', 'ALBERT' AND 'MARIPOSITA'

Jennis is moving slowly to the southwest over the Rosalind
Bank. For the 24-period, her rate of travel was approximately 32 km and
she is now over 1400 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Albert, our male hawksbill, is swimming due west at a rate
of 100 km per day. He is approximately 155 km northwest of Aruba and 350
km from Klein Bonaire.
Late Friday
night, November 11, 'Mariposita', our other female hawksbill, came ashore
and laid a nest at No Name Beach. She last nested on October 27. Typically
hawksbills lay about 4 to 6 nests per season with an interval of 14 to
16 days in-between nests. For the last two seasons we have had nesting
activity extend into December so there is a good chance that 'Marposita'
will stay a while and nest again. |
UPDATE NOV 12, 2005:
'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

Our female hawksbill, Jenni, has turned toward the east and
is now on the Rosalind Bank. The Rosalind Bank is a large shallow-water
carbonate bank formation with no emergent reefs or cays. Jennis
traveling at a rate of approximately 48 km per day. She is now over 1390
km from Klein Bonaire.
|
 Albert,
our male hawksbill, has turned to the west and is holding a steady speed
as he swims through waters over 2000 m deep. He is approximately 82 km northwest
of Aruba and over 255 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE NOV 11, 2005:
'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

'Jenni is moving to the north and is currently 20 km east of the
Rosalind Bank. Yesterday her rate of travel was approximately 57 km for
the day. She is now approximately 1360 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
 Albert is now swimming to the northwest. His rate of travel
has slowed slightly; yesterday he swam approximately 78 km. He is now over
185 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE NOV 10, 2005:
'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

It appears that Jenni has moved off the Alice Shoal and is
continuing on to the northwest. She covered less than 30 km yesterday
and is now slightly over 1300 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
 Albert, our male hawksbill, has turned toward the west. He covered
over 85 km yesterday and is now approximately 125 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE NOV 9, 2005:
'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

Jenni, our female hawksbill, has slowed appreciably and only
traveled about 27 km yesterday. She appears to be meandering over the
shallow waters of Alice Shoal (Bajo Alicia) and is very likely foraging
for food. This is probably her first opportunity to eat since starting
her journey several months ago. Alice Shoal is a completely submerged
bank with no emergent reefs or islets and a least depth of approximately
6 meters over it. Jenni is over 1280 km from Klein Bonaire.
|

Well, at long last, our male hawksbill Albert
is on the move. Alberts transmitter was attached way back on
June 9 and he has spent the last five months off the shore at Klein Bonaire
mating. If
you will remember, last season we fitted another male hawksbill, Tom
with a transmitter. Much like Albert, Tom hung around
for quite a while before departing and his signal was lost before we learned
his ultimate destination. This year Tom returned and we were
able to remove the transmitter. Surprisingly, the battery was still good
but the antenna was missing. Hopefully Alberts antenna will
hold up for the next several weeks while he travels home. Keep your fingers
crossed. Albert
probably departed the island mid-morning on November 7. He is approximately
52 km from Klein Bonaire and 34 km north of Bonaire. Albert
is named for one of the founding members of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire,
Albert de Soet. Alberts transmitter is sponsored by the cruise
ship Freewinds. |
UPDATE NOV 8, 2005:
'JENNI'

Jenni, our female hawksbill, has turned to the north and is
now 45 km east of the Serranilla Bank and 15 km south of Alice Shoal.
Jenni covered approximately 74 km in the preceding 24-hour
period and is over 1270 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE NOV 7, 2005:
'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

Jenni is approximately 455 km off the coast of Honduras. Yesterday
she covered about 82 km and is over 1210 km from Klein Bonaire. Last season
saw three of our female turtles return to this region of the Caribbean.
Approximately 100 km to her northwest is the Serranilla Bank,Funnys
foraging grounds. Blanco Gordo, Extras home, lays 320 km to
the west of Jenni. STINAPAs feeding grounds, Cayos
Miskito, are over 400 km to the southwest.
Today's single
signal from 'Albert' places him right off Klein Bonaire. Maybe tomorrow
or the day after or... |
UPDATE NOV 6, 2005:
'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

'Jenni, our female hawksbill, is continuing to the west and is about
510 km east of Honduras. Her rate of travel is pretty steady; she covered
approximately 87 km in the preceding 24-hour period. She is approximately
1140 km from Klein Bonaire. Now
it starts to get really interesting. Last season we had three sea turtles
return to three different locales in this region of the Caribbean. Where
will she go? We will keep you posted.
Maybe, just
maybe, 'Albert' is on the move! Yesterday's signals included one "semi-reliable"
data point for 'Albert' and placed him off the east coast of Curacao.
Hopefull today's data will confirm the fact that he has started home. |
UPDATE NOV 5, 2005:
'JENNI'

Our female hawksbill, Jenni, is still moving west and is holding
a steady pace. Yesterday, she covered approximately 90 km in the preceding
24-hour period and is about 1050 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE NOV 4, 2005:
'JENNI'

Now headed to the west and possibly going to the coast of Central America,
Jenni has picked up some speed. She swam at a rate of approximately
90 km for the prior 24-hour period. She is currently 960 km from Klein
Bonaire.
|
UPDATE NOV 3, 2005:
'JENNI'

Our female hawksbill, Jenni, has once again turned towards
the west and her pace has slowed even further. For the preceding 24-hour
period she covered approximately 52 km compared with 65 km for the day
before. Her current position is about 880 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE
NOV 2, 2005: 'JENNI'

Jenni continues swimming to the northwest but has slowed down
a bit. Her rate of travel for the preceding 24-hour period was approximately
65 km. She is about 820 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE NOV 1, 2005:
'JENNI'

'Jenni is back to a northwest heading and is now approximately 765
km from Klein Bonaire. She is swimming at a consistent pace; her rate
of travel was once again right around 88 km for the prior 24-hour period.
|
UPDATE OKT 31, 2005:
'JENNI'

'Jenni' continues to move to the west. Her rate of travel is about 83
km per day and she is currently over 680 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE OKT 30, 2005:
'JENNI'

Our female hawksbill, Jenni is now traveling almost due west.
Yesterday her rate of travel was approximately 88 km for the prior 24-hour
period and she is 600 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE OKT 29, 2005:
'JENNI'

'Jenni' slowed down a bit yesterday, traveling at a rate of about 80 km
per day. She continues to move in the same general direction towards the
northwest. She is swimming in water over 4000 meters deep but she probably
goes no deeper than 5 to 8 meters while traveling through these very deep
parts of the ocean. She is now over 510 km from her starting point at
Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE
OKT 28, 2005: 'JENNI'

'Jenni, our female hawksbill, is still moving to the northwest and
has increased her rate of travel once again, covering approximately 105
km in the prior 24hour period. She is currently 435 km from Klein
Bonaire.
|
UPDATE
OKT 27, 2005: 'JENNI'

Our female hawksbill Jenni has picked up some speed as she
continues swimming to the northwest. Yesterday her travel rate was approximately
94 km for the prior 24hour period. She is currently 64 km north
of the coast of Columbia and 325 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE
OKT 26, 2005: 'JENNI'

Jenni is now moving to the northwest. She is currently 35
km west of Aruba and over 230 km from Klein Bonaire. In the prior 24-hour
period she covered approximately 31 km.
|
UPDATE
OKT 25, 2005: 'JENNI'

Our female hawksbill Jenni continues on in a westerly direction
and is now past Aruba. I have been incorrectly reporting her rate of travel
and her distance from Bonaire in the last reports. The distance measuring
tool was calibrated to miles rather than kilometers my apologizes.
Jenni swam at a rate of approximately 68 km for the preceding
24-hours period and is now over 200 km from Klein Bonaire.
|
UPDATE
OKT 24, 2005: 'JENNI'

Female hawksbill Jenni is still moving to the west and is
now approximately 19 km from Aruba. Yesterday her rate of travel was around
34 km for the 24-hour period, considerably slower than the other turtles
we have tracked. She is almost 90 km from her starting point at Klein
Bonaire.
|
UPDATE OKT 23,
2005: 'JENNI'

Jenni,
our female hawksbill, continues to slowly swim to the west. She is currently
about 10 km north of Curacao and just over 57 km from Klein Bonaire. Yesterday
she covered approximately 32 km.
|
UPDATE
OKT 22, 2005: 'JENNI' AND 'ALBERT'

Less
than a week after being fitted with her transmitter, our female hawksbill
Jenni departed Bonaire and is en route to her home. Since
she didnt depart immediately after laying a nest on October 13,
we had expected her to lay at least one more. But on the morning of October
20, she headed off in a northwesterly direction. Jenni
is swimming rather slowly and is about 43 km northwest of Klein Bonaire.
As you might
expect, Albert is still with us. With the 2005 mating and
nesting season coming to a close, he has
to be leaving soon doesnt he? |
UPDATE
SEP 25, 2005: OUR MALE HAWKSBILL TURTLE NOW HAS A NAME: 'ALBERT'
Our male
hawksbill turtle now has a name. The sponsor of his satellite transmitter,
the cruise ship Freewinds, has named him Albert, in honor
of Albert de Soet, one of the founders of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire.
Albert
is still with us here at Bonaire. If he follows the example set by our
last male hawksbill, Tom, he should be departing within the
next two weeks. Lets hope he starts home even sooner.. |
UPDATE
SEP 6, 2005: 'TOM' REVISITED
We had received
at least 2 phone calls reporting that a large turtle with an antenna-less
transmitter on its back had been seen off Klein Bonaire. Several
searches for the turtle produced no results. Some, including me, assumed
that the reports were mistaken and what was actually being seen was the
male hawksbill we outfitted with a transmitter in June. We continue to
receive signals from this yet to be named turtle so we know
his antenna is intact. We thought that people were simply not seeing his
antenna.
Last Thursday,
September 1, Gielmon Funchi Egbreghts finally tracked down
the elusive, antenna-less turtle right near the Sampler dive site off
Klein Bonaire. Correctly identifying the male hawksbill as Tom,
Funchi carefully removed the transmitter from his carapace after taking
measurements and photos. After that, the turtle was released back in the
water right where he had been caught. A subsequent check of the tag numbers
confirmed that it was Tom.
Tom
was first captured and fitted with his transmitter back on July 14, 2004.
He stayed around Klein Bonaire until October 14 and then headed in a northeasterly
direction away from Bonaire. Unfortunately we lost his signal on October
28.
While the
female sea turtles that mate and nest on Bonaire only make the journey
once every two to four years, it is thought that our males may return
every year. Toms recapture, as part of STCBs on-going
in-water survey and tagging program, confirm that in at least Toms
case that he does return annually.
As for our
yet to be named male hawksbill, he is still off Klein Bonaire.
We have our fingers crossed that he will leave for his home foraging area
very soon. If not, we may have another situation like that of last year
when we lost Toms signal. Our best guess is that Toms
battery was depleted before he reached home.
. |

Tom prior to the transmitter being removed - 01 Sep 05 (STCB
photo)
|
UPDATE JUL 24,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| It
appears that Puerto Rico does, indeed, have a resident population of at
least one loggerhead turtle and that Happy has reached her home
feeding grounds in the Vieques Passage. It took her 20 days to travel home
having first entered the Vieques Passage on July 18. To reach her destination
she swam over 1100 km and is approximately 735 km from Klein Bonaire. This
will be the final satellite tracking update for Happy unless
she decides to continue her travels. If she does we will keep you posted. |
UPDATE JUL 23,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| Our
female loggerhead Happy is still in the Vieques Passage having
not moved any significant distance from her previous days location.
Happy is approximately 735 km from Klein Bonaire. Perhaps Puerto
Rico has a resident population of loggerhead turtles after all. We shall
see. |
UPDATE JUL 22,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| Happy
has not ventured very far in the last couple of days and is hanging out
in the Vieques Passage between Puerto Rico and the island of Vieques. As
we have mentioned previously, to the best of our knowledge, Puerto Rico
does not have a resident loggerhead population and it is expected that Happy
will move on. A best guess is that she is foraging for food in the area.
Female turtles do not eat during the entire period that they are nesting
and the waters around Vieques probably have presented Happy
with her first opportunity to feed in some time. She is approximately 725
km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE JUL 20,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| Happy,
our female loggerhead is currently off the coast of the island of Vieques,
Puerto Rico. She swam only about 12 km from her last posted position of
the prior day and is now approximately 725 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE JUL 20,
2005: 'OUR MALE HAWKSBILL'
 |
| Our
yet to be named male hawksbill is still in the area off Klein Bonaire. Below
is a photo taken of him at Jerry's Reef on July 6. The photo was taken by
Steve Jarrad. Thanks for sharing Steve.This satellite transmitter is being
sponsored by the cruise ship Freewinds. |
UPDATE
JUL 19, 2005: HAPPY
 |
| Happy,
our female loggerhead is now in the Vieques Passage, the body of water that
separates Puerto Rico from the island of Vieques. She traveled over 60 km
from her last recorded position of the day before and is now approximately
730 km from Klein Bonaire. To her north is the Atlantic Ocean and to her
east lay the Virgin Islands. |
UPDATE JUL 18,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| Happy,
our female loggerhead is still moving east and is approaching the town of
Guayama, Puerto Rico and the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The reserve is approximately 2,900 acres of mangrove forest and freshwater
wetlands and is surrounded by coral reefs and sea grass beds. She traveled
about 35 km from her last posted position of the prior day and is now slightly
over 675 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE JUL 17,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| The
signals from Happy have not been very good for the last two
days but she is continuing to swim to the east and is now east of the town
of Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is moving slowly at a rate of approximately 35
km per day and is now about 665 km from Klein Bonaire. |
UPDATE JUL 15,
2005: HAPPY
 |
| Surprisingly,
Happy is now moving to the south and rounding the southwest
corner of Puerto Rico. The area is known as Cabo Rojo (Red Cape). Cabo Rojo
obtained its name because of the reddish color of the rocks in the area.
In a 21-hour period, Happy traveled about 35 km and is now approximately
650 km from Klein Bonaire. Her path is very curious and only time will tell
where she is headed. |
UPDATE JUL 14,
2005: HAPPY
 |
Instead
of continuing north and through the Mona Passage, Happy,
our female loggerhead moved further to the east and is now slightly
north of the town of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. She covered approximately
55 km in the prior 24-hour period and is now over 680 km from Klein
Bonaire. Mayagüez
(pronounced Mah-yah-goo-ehz) is located on the west coast of Puerto
Rico and has a population of over 100,000 people. Puerto Rico does not
have a resident population of loggerheads so we do not expect Happy
to remain too long, but one can never tell!
|
UPDATE JUL 13,
2005: HAPPY
 |
Our female
loggerhead Happy is right in the middle of the Mona Passage.
The Mona Passage is an 80 km strait between the Dominican Republic and
Puerto Rico and connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea.
Happy traveled approximately 60 km in a 21-hour period yesterday.
She is about 690 km from Klein Bonaire and 675 km north of Bonaire.
Nautila the first turtle tracked from Bonaire back in 2003
also entered the Mona Passage but she hugged the coast of the Dominican
Republic on her way to the Navidad Banks to the northwest. You may remember
Nautila took a rather roundabout path to the Mona Passage,
taking over 38 days to reach the same latitude Happy has
reached in 15 days.
Male
Hawksbill sponsored by the Freewinds
The male
hawksbill turtle, sponsored by the cruise ship Freewinds, is still being
s | |