Tag: turtle nests
Baby turtles don’t need help to make it to sea
(CNS): The Department of Environment is urging the public not to try to help or interfere with baby turtles as they hatch from their nests. The experts explained that the little creatures don’t need help, and attempting to dig them out of the sand can cause more harm than good. Only DoE teams are authorized […]
Cabinet OKs ‘damaging’ East End shoreline project
(CNS): Cabinet has granted a coastal works licence for a groyne and the excavation of swim areas along the beachfront of the Wyndham Reef Resort in East End despite clear recommendations from the Department of Environment several years ago that the application should be denied because of the potential damage to the marine environment and […]
11-storey redo of 7MB condos faces major backlash
(CNS): Dozens of condo owners in complexes next to Aqua Bay Club on Seven Mile Beach are objecting to a proposal by the owners there to redevelop the existing apartments into a glass tower, which the planning department has said is at least eleven storeys. The Department of Environment has also raised concerns about the […]
Hawksbill nest ends longest recorded turtle season
(CNS): The 2022 sea turtle nesting season has broken yet another record after the final group of baby turtles emerged from their long incubation on 22 February, almost 11 months after the first early nest was recorded in March last year. 2022 also saw the most nests counted in any season since records began. The […]
Dozens of baby turtles lost due to bad lighting
(CNS): Around two dozen turtle hatchlings died last week because the nest from which they hatched was close to condos along Seven Mile Beach that did not have turtle-friendly lighting. As a result, the Department of Environment is once again urging people who own beachfront property near critical nesting habitat to contact them for help […]
Resort developers dismiss need for bird, turtle protections
(CNS): The developers behind the proposed resort at Beach Bay, Lower Valley, have asked the Central Planning Authority (CPA) to ignore directives from the Department of Environment on Phase 1B of the project, which is a CI$43 million residence tower alongside the already approved plans for a ten-storey $170 million hotel.
Turtle nests hit hard by last year’s storms
(CNS): Endangered sea turtles face a number of serious threats to their existence, which now includes climate change. Already at risk from poaching, coastal development and human activity, especially lighting that disorients hatchlings, the turtles must now contend with rising summer temperatures, rising sea levels and increased storm activity, which undermine their nesting season.
Loggerhead turtles lay record number of nests
(CNS): 2021 has turned out to be a record-breaking year for the number of loggerhead turtle nests across all three Cayman Islands. When turtle nest monitoring began in 1998, no loggerhead nests were counted on any of the islands and scientists believed the numbers were too low to ever recover.
Hatchlings put on daytime show in Little Cayman
(CNS): Volunteers with the Department of Environment’s Turtle Team on Little Cayman were on hand last week to catch on camera the rare event of baby turtles hatching from their nests during daylight hours. Sea turtles usually emerge from their nests at night to prevent them from overheating and to evade hungry predators on land […]
Hundreds of hatchlings released ahead of Grace
(CNS): Before Tropical Storm Grace hit the Cayman Islands Wednesday morning, the Department of Environment’s volunteer turtle team scoured the beaches to rescue baby turtles that had hatched but had not made it out of their nests in an effort to stop them from drowning from water inundation during the storm.
More than 550 turtle nests break season records
(CNS): The year 2020 will go down in history for many reasons but it has also made the record books here for the length of the wild turtle nesting season and number of nests found on the islands’ beaches. Across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, Department of Environment staff and volunteers counted 557 nests and […]
