by Karen Sota

Summertime means a new team of summer interns! It's always fun to welcome these bright young students into the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. They bring new energy and a sense of joy in everything they do! In their own words, introducing the Summer, 2022 Intern Team!

My name is Montana, and I am the lead intern for summer 2022 at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. Originally, I am from Upstate New York and grew up with my four brothers tumbling around the fields and forests around my backyard. At Cornell University I did a double concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Marine Biology, and I also spent three field seasons in Indonesia working with the most critically endangered rhinoceros in the world. Currently I am pursuing a masters degree at the University of Manitoba, and am trying to learn as much about sea turtles as possible! In the future I hope to be a conservation biologist and help shape international endangered species policy.

Hello! My name is Alejandra and I am a rising senior at Hunter College in New York City. I am a pre-vet student with a major in biochemistry and a minor in music. In the past, I have worked with small animals and farm animals, and this is my first time getting to work with sea turtles! I hope to become a small and exotic animal veterinarian, with an interest in reptiles. I am interested in animal rehabilitation and conservation, and want to incorporate this type of work into my career. I am excited to work with new people and animals, and contribute towards something bigger than myself. In my free time, I enjoy practicing piano, baking, exercising, and trying new foods.

Hello everyone, my name is Dani! I am currently an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University majoring in Animal Science with a veterinary bioscience concentration and minoring in Zoology. After graduation, I hope to attend veterinary school with a focus on exotic and wildlife medicine. In order to prepare for my future career, I work at a small animal hospital, a large animal mobile practice, and a reptile rescue. I am thrilled that this internship with KBSTRRC is giving me the opportunity to work with marine animals!

Hey I’m Helena! I am from NC and I go to Michigan State University (go green). I am majoring in Zoology with a concentration in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology. I loved being a junior intern the last two summers at the KBSTRRC, and I wanted to come back to learn more about sea turtle rehabilitation and conservation. I hope to go to vet school and eventually become a wildlife veterinarian. I am so excited to be a senior intern here this summer and work with the turtles and the public!

Hi! I am Holly and I am a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls! I graduated with a degree in Animal Science with an Emphasis in Science and Interest in Companion Animals.  I am coming to Surf City from my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, where we unfortunately do not have marine life. Experience wise, I have worked with many companion animals as well as cattle, horses, swine, sheep, or pretty much any other animal you would find on a farm.  I am very excited to learn more about and work with animals I don’t usually have a chance to interact with! I am very grateful for the staff and volunteers of KBSTRRC for allowing me this wonderful experience for this summer!

Originally from Puerto Rico, Javelis is a recent graduate from Iowa State University with a B.S in Animal Ecology and Pre-vet. In the past, she has worked with domesticated animals, such as dogs, cats, sheep, and dairy cattle, but this is her first time working hands-on with sea turtles. On her free time, Javelis loves traveling, nature photography, hiking, rollerskating, and playing tennis. At the end of this internship, she will be attending vet school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to pursue a career in wildlife and conservation medicine.

Hi, my name is Lewis and I’m from Barnsley, England. I’ve always had an aspiration to work with and protect wildlife, especially sea related species despite living in the middle of the country! I graduated last year with a degree in Marine Biology from Bangor University, Wales and volunteered for a nearby aquarium during my final year. After graduating, I wanted hands-on conservation experience with marine mammals and so I interned for 6 months at a seal rescue and rehabilitation centre in Ireland! Gaining vital information of handling and caring for marine mammals and educating the public of their importance I then wanted to diversify the animals I work with and help effectively preserve keystone species. This opportunity at KBSTRRC is perfect for broadening my horizons in rehabilitation and conservation of marine life & I look forward to making a meaningful difference with such caring people!!

Hello! My name is Michael, and I am from Huntersville, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte! I graduated this May from UNC-Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) with degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science, along with a minor in food studies. I have spent several years working in environmental education and wildlife conservation, including with the North Carolina Botanical Gardens, the City of Memphis, and several environmental startups. Last summer, I interned at Bald Head Island Conservancy, a sea turtle protection agency off the southern coast of NC. There, I fell in love with sea turtles, and I hope to learn more about rescue and rehabilitation this summer, while continuing to fuel my love for wildlife. Outside of work, I love to read, run, play the trombone, and perform improv comedy!

Hello, my name is Mikayla and I am originally from Cape Cod, MA but moved to Wilmington, NC in 2019. I will be a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the fall. I am majoring in marine biology and also pre-vet. My plan is to go to NC State College of Veterinary Medicine to earn my DVM. My ultimate career goal is to become an aquatic veterinarian for a rescue and rehabilitation center. This past fall semester I lived in Alaska for four months studying marine mammals, that was such an amazing experience. I also have worked at a small animal hospital in Hampstead, NC. I am super excited to work at KBSTRRC this summer to learn more about sea turtles and gain experience working at a rescue and rehabilitation center!

Hi everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am a rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!). I am an Environmental Studies major with minors in Marine Science and Music. I am planning to pursue a master’s degree in Marine Science and ideally work in coastal conservation in the future. I fell in love with marine life through scuba diving - I am currently a NAUI Advanced Rescue Diver, and I would love to use my scuba skills in my future conservation work. In my free time, I love exploring sinkholes and shipwrecks, playing my cello, and going to the beach! I am so grateful to the KBSTRRC for providing me with this incredible opportunity, and I am excited to learn more about sea turtle rehabilitation!

by Karen Sota

We talk to our turtles all the time, and they generally respond to the sound of our voices. In all honesty they’re probably only paying attention to us because they think we’re there to deliver a meal. But what can turtles really hear, especially underwater where they do most of their hearing? Since last year some of our patients have been participating in non-invasive research to find answers to that very question.

The project is being conducted by our turtle vet, Dr. Craig Harms along with Charles Muirhead PhD student (Duke) and Wendy Dow Piniak, PhD (NOAA) with funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM.) The ocean is a noisy place with naturally occurring sounds including storms and hurricanes. But there’s also a lot of people noise from commercial, recreational and military activity. Our proximity to Camp Lejeune has desensitized us locals to the “sounds of freedom” but how are sea turtles responding to Coast Guard boats, ordnance and low flying aircraft?

The research is designed to determine what thresholds sea turtles are most sensitive to; what’s the quietest sound they respond to at each frequency (or as a musician would call it, “pitch”). It’s important to remember that our turtles are not harmed in any way. The method used is the “Auditory Evoked Potential” (AEP) method, the same one employed to evaluate hearing in babies and non-verbal patients and involves attaching external sensors that measure brain activity. We use our surgical room for the study as it is the quietest spot in our hospital. A large tank of water is rigged with an underwater speaker and a platform where the turtle is secured then lowered and raised in the water as the sounds change. It requires some swaddling of the flippers with additional restraint of a bag for the feisty turtles. There’s quite a bit of specialized electronics involved to generate sounds and record data. The equipment is so sensitive that we have to tiptoe around the building as even the sound of a door opening and closing anywhere near the surgery can contaminate the data. Each turtle spends about an hour in the tank to get enough clean readings.

The research is ongoing. Obviously only our smaller turtles can participate and despite their reputation the Kemp’s have been the most compliant. The greens – they definitely need the bag. It’s pretty cool research and if I were a turtle I’d raise my flipper to volunteer.

Beginning in June we will be open seven days a week: Mon – Fri, Noon-3; Saturday,10-2 and Sunday Noon-2.  Tickets MUST be purchased in advance through our website reservations page. Select the date, time and the number of guests in your party and purchase your tickets. We limit the number of guests for each time to make the experience more enjoyable and to continue our commitment to keep you and our staff safe as we work our way through Covid. At this point masks are not required. Sorry, but we are not able to accommodate walk-ups for tours once we sell out for the day. Please keep in mind that summer traffic can be especially heavy on the weekends so plan your arrival accordingly. If you are coming only to our gift shop (not for a tour) you can enter through the single door to the left of the main entrance.

​Nesting season has officially arrived, and our Topsail Turtle Project volunteers are out on the beaches before sunrise looking for signs that mama has nested. We usually see our first confirmed nest around Mother’s Day so keep your eyes peeled. If you spot anything unusual such as a stranding or nesting, please call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880. If she is not available, you may call the hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222 . We will take the information and we will send a trained volunteer to meet you to assess the situation. The State of NC hotline for stranded, sick, and injured turtles is 252-241-7367. The state number picks up 24/7. Please note that all our work with sea turtles, at the hospital and on the beach, is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 22ST05. 

by Karen Sota

The ladies are in the house – or actually on the beach. After a bit of a late start those turtle moms are finally here and our Topsail Turtle Project volunteers are out at dawn looking for signs of nests.

Topsail is pretty much loggerhead territory, but the past few years have seen a green (possibly more than one) take a liking to our sand. Research has shown that our northern loggerheads do not reach maturity until about thirty-five years of age, so these ladies trudging through the sand are good-sized gals, many of them tipping the scales at around three-hundred pounds. They are not built for land travel, so you can imagine the effort involved in hauling yourself through the sand on flippers to find the perfect home for your babies. Believe it or not that’s the easy part!

Once mom selects a spot, she digs out a nest about two-feet deep, using only her rear flippers.  Then she deposits her clutch of eggs, which average about 100-120 a nest. After carefully filling and packing the nest with sand she uses her powerful flippers to fling sand all around the area to disguise her work. Then it’s the long haul back to the sea where she spends a few weeks of R&R before her next trip ashore. It’s normal for these gals to lay between one and five nests over the course of the summer. Our volunteers verify, mark and record data on every nest. If the nest has been laid in a vulnerable location (below the high tide line or in a high traffic beach area) they carefully remove and relocate every egg to a safer area.

Since 2010 we have been participating in a research project at the University of Georgia (http://www.seaturtle.org/nestdb/genetics.shtml) that is tracking the nesting patterns of our northern loggerheads. One egg is harvested from each nest and the DNA and other data is recorded and analyzed. The results are quite interesting and show that sea turtles are indeed mysterious in their nesting habits. Some ladies nested several times in a small area of beach, while others were less discriminating and travelled up and down the eastern seaboard. These critters continue to surprise and amaze those of us who work with them.
Although we have numerous eyes on the beach our visitors have always played a critical part in our work. Many times we have gotten calls in the night that “there’s a turtle on the beach.” There are some important things that you can do during nesting season to keep our ladies safe.

• Do not harass a nesting turtle in any way. Not only is it illegal but you could cause her so much stress that she abandons the process and loses her eggs. Stay back, do not crowd or chase her or take flash photography. Keep pets away.

• Keep beachfront lighting to a minimum. Turtles can become disoriented by bright lights and head off in the wrong direction. With the tremendous growth on the island, especially of massive rental properties even “normal” indoor lighting at night is proving to be a huge distraction to the nesting moms. Every year there are increased instances where mamas (and hatchlings) have gone over the dunes and ended up in parking lots and on the highways.

• Do not leave heavy items (chairs, canopies, umbrellas) on the beach overnight. A turtle can become entangled in these.

• If you dig a hole do not walk away without replacing all the sand. It’s dangerous not only to turtles but to humans who can stumble into it and break a bone (it’s happened.)

Respect the nest and any instructions from our Topsail Turtle Project volunteers. They have all been trained in the proper procedures. We do encourage you to ask them any questions that you might have, however. If you spot a nesting mama, or anything unusual such as an injured or stranded turtle please call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880. If she is not available, you may call the hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222 . We will take the information and we will send a trained volunteer to meet you to assess the situation. The State of NC hotline for stranded, sick, and injured turtles is 252-241-7367. The state number picks up 24/7. Please note that all our work with sea turtles, at the hospital and on the beach, is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 22ST05.

Through June and July we will be open seven days a week: Mon – Fri, Noon-3; Saturday,10-2 and Sunday Noon-2. Tickets MUST be purchased in advance through our website: www.seaturtlehospital.org/visit.html. Select the date, time and the number of guests in your party and purchase your tickets. We limit the number of guests for each time to make the experience more enjoyable and to continue our commitment to keep you and our staff safe as we continue to respond to any changes in Covid. At this point masks are not required. Sorry, but we are not able to accommodate walk-ups for tours once we sell out for the day. Please keep in mind that summer
traffic can be very heavy, especially on the weekends so plan your arrival accordingly. If you are coming only to our gift shop (not for a tour) you can enter through the single door to the left of the main entrance.