Education Outreach event at Wing beach

On July 25, 2011 DLNR Sea Turtle Program staff hosted an education outreach event on Wing Beach for Oleai and San Vicente Elementary School's summer science program and Eco-camp participants. Approximately 200 students witnessed DLNR staff perform a nest inventory and the release of two straggler hatchlings while learning fun facts about sea turtle biology.

Kumiko continues traveling west...

The latest track from Kumiko, at liberty 56 days, and she is still traveling west, perhaps heading towards the Philippines! While the track seems to show a straight line remember we are connecting the dots between transmissions. It is anyone's guess what she does between data points, but her consistent (deliberate) movement west is interesting and telling.

Volunteers assist with nest inventory of Kumiko's 2nd nest

Satellite tagged turtle Kumiko's 2nd nest hatched on July 10, 2011 at Bird Island Beach. CNMI Sea Turtle Program staff performed a nest inventory on July 13th to evaluate hatch and emergence success for this nest. There were 4 hatchlings trapped in the nest by roots and rocks and volunteers helped to release them. The hatch success rate was 82.9% while the emergence success was 76.8%.

Saipan Sea Turtles Featured in Hafadai Magazine

The July 2011 issue of Hafadai magazine, a publication primarily targeting Japanese-speaking tourists, featured recent Saipan sea turtle activities on the cover (image at right), a 'pagelet' on satellite tagging with the table of contents and an article (Hafadai-versity No.36) covers the recent nest hatching at Bird Island.

Sea Turtle in Mural on Saipan

A recently completed mural promoting coral reef conservation prominently features a sea turtle. It is located adjacent to the tennis courts at the American Memorial Park. The mural faces one of Saipan's busiest intersections at Middle Road and Navy Hill.