Anyone can be a hero, if he is at the right place at the right time and exercises good judgment.
On Aug. 22, 4-year-old Aiden Henson and grandmother Beth Henson, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, were walking along Gulf Drive when they spotted a hatchling sea turtle trapped under a stormwater drainage grate near Runaway Bay condominiums, 1801 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach.
“Look, there’s a crab in there,” Aiden said when he spotted what turned out to be a hatchling sea turtle.
Beth Henson determined the “crab” was a loggerhead hatchling and called Hunter Henson, Aiden’s father, who joined them. They next reached out to Suzi Fox, executive director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.
Fox was not on the island, so she called Ed Straight, president of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Inc., nearby at 2207 Ave. B in Bradenton Beach. Straight also is Bradenton Beach’s vice mayor.
“We have an excellent working relationship with AMITW — we help each other out when we can,” Straight said.
Straight and grandson Devon, also with Wildlife Inc., with the help of two Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, removed the grate and rescued three hatchlings.
Shortly thereafter, an unidentified worker with Bright House Networks brought another hatchling to Wildlife Inc. that he found near their location.
“We combed the area looking for more hatchlings, but couldn’t find any,” Straight said.
The dehydrated hatchlings were taken to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota for rehabilitation.
“Aiden was just as happy as can be — he’s telling everyone he’s the hero that saved the turtles,” said Hunter Henson. “I just hope that people who hear about this story are aware of the situation and do what they can to protect sea turtles on Anna Maria Island.”
Sea turtles — which usually emerge at night from nests on the beach — use their instincts to follow the reflection of the moon and stars on the surface of the water to the Gulf.
A disorientation can occur when hatchlings are distracted by artificial lights and head away from the waterline, which can lead to death by predation or dehydration.
At about the same time as the Wildlife Inc. hatchling rescue, AMITW section 7 coordinator Kathy Doddridge received a call from the property manager at La Costa condominiums that 10 live hatchlings were found in the parking garage at Mirabella condominiums, 1900 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach.
Doddridge investigated the marked nests nearby and determined none had recently hatched.
But as she followed the hatchling’s tracks, she found an unmarked nest that had hatched in the vegetation on the beach near 1800 Gulf Drive N., where she retrieved 14 live and four dead hatchlings from the nest. The 24 live hatchlings were released Aug. 22 at sunset.
The hatchlings had emerged from the same unmarked nest, according to Fox.
“It was the only recently hatched nest in the vicinity,” Fox said.
That night, Fox surveyed the area near the hatched nest and determined the disorientation was possibly caused by light from a window at either Runaway Bay or Coquina Beach Club, 1906 Gulf Drive N.
Street lights on Gulf Drive also could have caused the disorientation.
“If it was caused by lights from one of the condos, this is a violation of the city code specifying indoor lights must be out or shielded after dark, and management must be contacted,” Fox said.
On Aug. 23, Fox notified Bradenton Beach code officer Gail Garneau, asking her to alert the property managers at the condos.
Management at Runaway Bay or Coquina Beach Club was not available for comment to The Islander.
For more information about sea turtles, contact Fox at suzilfox@gmail.com or 941-778-5638.
‘Hands off’ sea turtle hatchlings
In September and October, thousands of sea turtle hatchlings on Anna Maria Island will emerge from their nests on the beach and make their way to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises that “hands off” is the best policy for beachgoers who come into contact with hatchlings.
Sea turtles should be viewed from a distance. Even well intentioned attempts to rescue a hatchling could result in harm to the turtle, according to the FWC.
Tampering with a sea turtle nest or picking up a hatchling for a photo opportunity also are against the law.
People are asked to call the FWC’s Wildlife hotline at 888-404-3922 — or *FWC or #FWC from a cellphone — to report hatchlings that are stranded, wandering in a parking lot or road, wandering away from the water or dead.
Or call the FWC’s local permitted turtle watch group, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring at 941-778-5638.