From May until October of every year, it is nesting season for sea turtles, which come up on to Siesta Key beach (and others around southern Florida) in the darkness to lay their eggs. It takes approximately 60 days from the time the eggs are laid until the baby sea turtles hatch. Many of the turtles are loggerhead turtles, whose shells can be a habitat for as many as 100 other species of plants and animals (source: http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/loggerhead-turtle).

As you walk on the beach during the sea turtle nesting season, you will likely see small areas roped off by the Mote Marine Sea Turtle Patrol, a group of scientists, interns and volunteers who monitor the area’s beaches to protect sea turtle nests. Sea turtles have existed in the earth’s oceans for more than a 100 million years, but according to both the Mote Marine Laboratory and the WWF, sea turtles…