What is a False Crawl

Attachments

Sea Turtle Activity Update May 2.pdf

It is the beginning of Sea Turtle Nesting Season in Marco Island and according to this week’s sea turtle weekly report, 11 false crawls have been recorded by the Sea Turtle monitors for Marco, which is an indication that sea turtles want to nest. Six false crawls were from Sunday and five from Monday – all from the construction area on Sand Dollar Island.

A nesting sea turtle leaves a line of tracks on the beach as it comes ashore dragging its body along the sand looking for a suitable place to deposit its eggs. Monitors can determine the species by the size and shape of its tracks. 

A false crawl is when a sea turtle comes ashore laden with eggs but turns around without depositing them on the sand. According to experts, this happens for many reasons - noises or lights on the beach, beach furniture blocked her way, trash left on the beach or something did not feel right with the sand.

The female sea turtle might make another attempt to come ashore and deposit her clutch of eggs. Though they live most of their lives in the ocean, the sandy beaches provide the right conditions for their eggs to survive. If constantly disturbed, they might dump their clutch in the ocean.